The Ways of the Aura
by PianistChris
Summary: Chapter 7 - Alex is distraught by nightmares, and she bumps into a familiar face
1. The Lost Girl and Angry Pokemon

- Chapter 1 -

**The Lost Girl and the Angry Pokemon**

I was racing through the forest… It was raining, and dark…Leaves, and water splashed against my face and I was constantly pushing things away with my hands. I slipped on mud and landed heavily on my back - air bursted out of me. I shook my head groggily and got up slowly, prepared to run again.

…_SNAP_

My eyes widened, and I swiftly turned, but I saw nothing – through the thick, ghostly forest, all I saw were leaves and bark. Frightened tears trickled slowly down my cheeks, I couldn't see anything, but I _knew_ something was out there following me. I turned quickly and sprinted off in a random direction, uncaring of where I was heading, determined to get away from whatever was following... chasing me. I turned around and pushed branches away, allowing me to continue. My feet threshed in the watery mud, muddy water to clung onto my legs, but I didn't care, all I had in my mind was getting away.

I found myself facing a large, rough stone in my path; there were several trees on both of my sides, which I wouldn't be able to get through. I placed my hands on it, ready to climb up, but I jumped off after scraping my hands from its sharp surface. There was no blood from it, but there were damp holes in my hands, I rubbed my hands against my sides and turned around, scarcely walking out of the tree-made tunnel. I began looking for another direction I could run in, but something was wrong. I couldn't see where I came from; everything was different, no matter where I turned. Although I was unsure of where I was going, due to the rain and leaves distorting my sight, I was still able to make out what I was running through - but now everything was different, and I wasn't planning on going in the same direction that I came from.

_SNAP_

My eyed widened, and my heart beat steadily rose, I spun my head around, in hope of finding out what was chasing me, but again I saw nothing. My breathing increased, and I closed my eyes, thinking of what to do next, I was still unsure of what was after me, and I was petrified of what it was

_Two hours earlier, outside an office,_

I was sat outside an office, people were inside discussing what they were going to do to me, my parents had died a month ago, and the people in the office were discussing what was going to happen to me, because they didn't think I should be living alone, as I had been doing during the previous month.

"So, that settles it doesn't it?" I turned my head at the door and listened closely,

"Yes, she should be fine with foster parents"

My eyes widened, the last thing I wanted was 'fake' parents, and I listened closely, hoping that someone would protest,

"Yes, she should be fine, now we should decide who will take her".

I shook my head, my eyes began to water, I didn't want any foster parents, I was fine the way I was. I took a minute to think, and made my decision.

I walked out of the building, the rain and darkness mirroring how I felt. The people were unaware of my escape, and I dashed into the nearby forest, to be certain that no-one would follow me. I had decided to run away, get to another town, and carry on with my life – it was a sudden decision, but I had run out of options. I slowed my pace once I was unable to see the town anymore, and walked forward; I knew that if I kept heading straight, I should reach...something.

There were some rustling in the trees above me, and I took no notice of it, but a twig snap froze me where I was. I looked around me, and saw nothing, I began walking forward, and a slight shiver went down my spine - when I heard some bushes rustling. I turned around and, scarcely, but forcefully shouted, "Who's there!" There was no response. Another twig snapped, yet again, but this time some low growls followed it.

My eyes widened; I began to tremble slightly, and I began to nervously breathe deeply. Some bushes on my right rustled violently, and I instinctively began to sprint in the opposite direction, fear leading me through the rain-filled, dark forest…

_Back in the present…_

My eyes snapped open, and I came back into reality at some growls that I heard at the beginning... but this time they were closer…More threatening. I dashed left and continued in a straight line; I had given up on turning, and trying to confuse my predator, now my plan was to try and outrun it.

My hair was flying in the wind; the tears coming from my eyes were swept off my face to join the falling water. I was breathing heavily; forcing myself to increase my pace, trying to get away as best as I possibly could. A large, muddy hill surprised me, and I fell down it, sliding, and rolling, until I landed heavily onto the wet, muddy base. I got up slowly, trying to catch my breath. I clenched my stomach and dragged my feet across the floor, intent on carrying on.

A blue blur flew in front of me and landed on the floor lightly. I stopped, and stared at it afraid, but slightly curiously too. It was blue, with a black cross going over its eyes; it had a yellow, furry torso and black feet and paws. Its eyes were a deep, shining red. It growled menacingly at me and stated,

"_You made a mistake by coming here_"

I couldn't see his, (I guessed it was male due to its voice), lips moving, but I was certain that it had come from him,

"What do you mean?"

"_I know what __**your**__ kind is like.__" _

I took a step back, I guessed that he was a Pokemon, but I had never seen one like him.

I tried to reason with him, "B-But you don't know me at all"

"_That's not true; I know your kind human_"

"But…" I was unsure of what to say, "I haven't done anything to you!"

He growled at me and stepped forward, "_What does it matter? You're all the same, and I will do anything make sure you stay away from me"_

I looked at him confusingly, "But you were following me!" This caused him to growl louder, and his fists began to glow a blue flame-like substance. My eyes widened at the blue glow, and I automatically sprinted away from him, ignoring my pain and whilst running, I heard a loud "_Guuuragh!" _Before footsteps began to pace after me. I jumped over a low log, and after noticing that he was not behind me, slowed my pace and laid my back against a tree.

I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, making sure that I breathed as much oxygen as possible without alerting him as to where I was hiding. I heard him land and tilted my head around the tree, looking at him as he twisted his head in search of me. He looked around for a few seconds and then lowered his head, and the blue-like flame covered his entire body. He growled softly, before snapping his eyes at my direction, "_There.__" _

My jaw dropped, and before thinking of what had just happened, ran forwards in attempt to get away. The trees made it more confusing for me to escape; I turned around a few, and found that I was heading in a circular direction. He was still following me, closing in, but I did not give up. I came into a small clearing and ran across it, but noticed that the footsteps had stopped. I turned around slowly, cautious to what may happen and I found nothing, he wasn't there anymore. I should have carried on in my escape, but I was absorbed by my curiosity as to why I was suddenly left alone.

I pushed my way through the forest and kept my ears and eyes alert, continuously looking overhead in case he may be waiting for me. I walked around a tree and heard voices,

"We got it!" It was a squeaky male voice, and this was followed by a low, anxious voice,

"It looks rare! Still…Be careful, it doesn't look friendly"

I followed the voices and found the blue Pokemon lying on the floor growling at two men, with both his hands tied with a metal clasp. The men were in front of him, one tall and skinny, and one short and chubby; complete opposites. The short man walked towards the Pokemon,

"Well, it looks rare, like I said; we could sell it fer a lot of cash!"

"Yeah! Imagin' how rich we'd be?"

I opened my mouth in shock, although the Pokemon was chasing me, intent on killing me, I hated treatment like that, and immediately thought of a plan.

I rushed towards them, "Hey! What the hell are you doing? That's my Pokemon!"

The two men looked at me surprised, and the skinny one said, "Whoa! I chick" I narrowed my eyes at him, "Hey, Jerry, do ya think she'll come with us"

I casually walked towards them, "Are you deaf? I said you have my Pokemon"

The short one, known as Jerry, looked suspiciously at me, "How do we know it's your Pokemon ehy?" I rolled my eyes at him,

"Fine, I'll show you" I looked at the downed Pokemon, straight into his red eyes, "Come here… Granocham" He narrowed his eyes at me, probably from the idiotic name I gave him, but got up and walked towards me, "There, you see? Now free him now"

Jerry crossed his arms, "You still don't convince me" The skinny man lightly punched Jerry in the arm,

"C'mon Jerry! Who cares, it probably is 'ers anyway, lets just leave 'em"

"…Fine" and with that, they unlocked the metal clasps and walked away.

I looked at the blue Pokemon and smiled, "See? I'm not here to hurt you" He narrowed his eyes at me,

"I still don't trust you" I sighed at this, and he continued, "But I thank-you for your assistance, and in re-payment, I will offer to assist you out of this forest"

I blinked at him, "Really? But…I have no where to go…" I looked down at the wet mud,

"Then I shall take you to a place where you can stay for a while"

I looked at him, "What?"

"There is a castle, owned by a mistress named Lady Ilene; she will take you in for as long as you wish"

"But…What? Firstly, you were just trying to hurt me a second ago, and secondly, you're suddenly offering me to stay at a castle for as long as I want?"

He shrugged, "I re-pay those who aid me" he caught the smile I gave him and said, "But I don't do it out of gratitude, I only do it as a re-payment, and I still despise your kind"

"What about this Lady Ile-"

"She is an exception" I thought about my options, and agreed,

"Okay then, but tell me this, why were you here?"

"To stop you wretched humans from taking Pokemon" I sighed, and he nodded me in the direction we were going to be heading in, and began to walk ahead of me, "By the way, my name is Lucario… Not Granocham as you abruptly put it"

I blushed, "S-Sorry, my name is Alex"

"Humph"

And with that, we made our way to the castle...

* * *

_And there goes the first chapter :)_

_Let's see what will happen when she gets to the castle..._

_Lucario: Muahaha_

_Me: Ok...ay..._

_R & R :p_


	2. Alex's Introduction to the Palace

- Chapter 2 -

**An Introduction to the Palace**

We were walking through the forest, Lucario was ahead of me and whilst walking, I took some time to look at him with more detail; he was roughly my height; 5'9'' and there were spikes pointing out from his chest and both of his paws. He had four sacks hanging from either side of his head and had a long, blue tail that arched at the tip. My thoughts were interrupted by Lucario,

"We don't have much to go"

I looked away, "Oh, okay…" Walking faster, to keep up with him, I thought of something to say, "So. Why are you so uptight about humans?" He turned abruptly and glared at me with his deep red…entrancing eyes.

"That is of no concern to you" and he continued walking towards the castle.

I sniffed and brushed my hair back with my fingers, "Okay then… I'm sorry if I offended you" I looked hopefully at Lucario, wondering if he would respond to my faint apology, but no luck. Thinking of something else to say, I asked,

"Erm… May I ask something?"

He tilted his head forward, I could tell he was beginning to get annoyed, and replied, "What?"

"Well… It's about you offering to help me earlier…" I trailed off.

"What about it?"

"I just don't understand it, why would you offer help so suddenly when you were trying to kill me?

"I already told you, human, I am only helping you because you helped me escape from those idiots"

I sighed in annoyance at his answer, "My name is Alex you know"

"That is of no concern to me"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as we continued walking.

I looked around to try and find out where we were, but I couldn't make out anything, and I hadn't expected to – the good thing was that it had stopped raining, and the suns rays were streaming through the holes that the tress above us made, which made me more comfortable than what I was before.

"So, what's this castle called?"

"It's named Cameron Palace"

"That's a nice name, is it nice there?"

Lucario's voice grew softer, "Yes, it is a beautiful place"

I smiled at him, and then said, "Well… Then I should enjoy it there right?" Lucario didn't answer me, he just continued walking.

Before I was able to think of something else to talk about, Lucario turned his head towards me, "We are here". I got more excited as looked closer at what was ahead of us; what I saw was amazing. The castle was large; a white, long, narrow bridge connected from the castle to where Lucario and I were. The castle had red, glistening roofs and long, blue windows which were accompanied by light grey walls. I opened my jaw in astonishment, "Its beautiful" I looked at Lucario and caught a small smile that formed on his lips, "I think that's the first time I've seen you smile"

Lucario's smile snapped away, and he glared at me with menacing eyes and I looked at him nervously, "S-Sorry"

"Humph." And began to walk across the bridge, "Keep following" I hurried after him.

We entered through large, wooden doors and I followed Lucario to hall, which amazed me even further. It was large; a throne sat at one end, with two portraits hanging on either side of it, one was a picture of the rare Pokemon mew, and the other was a portrait of a man with olden style clothes, a hat, and a staff which he held above his head.

"Who's that?" Lucario didn't answer; he just tilted his head to the side and continued walking towards the throne. Lucario motioned me to stop and I stood waiting with him, until an old woman came in and smiled at Lucario,

"Ah Lucario, you've returned" she looked at me oddly, "And who's this?"

"I-" I was immediately interrupted by Lucario,

"I would like to explain this to Lady Ilene" The old woman nodded and walked off. A few seconds passed and a tall woman; with long blond hair, and wearing a pink dress came in.

"Hello Lucario, was your trip a good one?" Lucario kneeled on the floor,

"It went well, Lady Ilene" Lady Ilene looked at me,

"And who's this?" I began to get nervous,

"My name i-is Alex" Her warm smile lessened my nerves as she spoke,

"Hello Alex, my name is Lady Ilene; may I ask why you are here?" Lucario answered,

"She helped me with a position I was stuck in, and in return, I offered her a place at the palace as she says she has no where to go"

"Hmm…Why don't you have anywhere to go? What about your parents?" I stiffened at that question,

"Erm… They passed away a month ago, and I didn't want any foster parents, so I fled" I looked away and a tear ran down my cheek, I always get depressed when I reminisced about my parents, but I was surprised by a gentle hand which lifted my head, revealing Lady Ilene in front of me.

"I'm sorry, you can stay here as long as you wish" I smiled and wiped the tear away,

"Thank-you Lady Ilene" She turned to Lucario and with a soft voice said,

"Lucario, can you show her to a room?" Lucario closed his eyes and bent his head forward,

"As you wish Lady Ilene" and he stood up and walked over to me,

"Follow me" I nodded and bid Lady Ilene goodbye, before leaving with Lucario as we began walking down a narrow hallway.

There was an eerie silence as we walked, as before in the forest, but I felt more comfortable with the thought of having a place to stay - in such a large castle

non-the-less.

"Lucario" Lucario turned his head at me,

"Yes?"

"Well… I wanted to thank-you again for helping me" He turned his head and continued walking, and I sighed.

We walked outside and I looked at the large green garden as we walked by a blue pond, "Wow, this place is amazing, as you said"

"Yes… I feel very relaxed when I am here" I looked surprised at Lucario,

"Did you just reply to me?"

"Yes, why?"

"Oh, nothing, nevermind" Lucario shook his head and continued walking. We reached two wooden doors, and Lucario pushed them open, and walked inside. It was a small room, in comparison to the rest of the palace, but it was nice; there was a bed on the side, and a few wooden tables. Lucario faced me and pointed to another door, "In there is your room"

"Okay" I walked to the door and opened it, it looked like the previous room, but, searching around, it showed to have a bathroom too. I walked to Lucario and smiled, "It's nice" and I then asked, "Where do you sleep?"

"I sleep in this room" And I looked around at the room that we had come in through, "There is a festival taking place soon, and the rooms in the palace are being used for it, so you will have to stay in that room until its over"

"There's a festival?"

"Yes, it is a festival for…" He stiffened at his thoughts, "For Sir Aaron, who people believe is a hero..." He looked down at the floor, "but in reality he isn't".

I was confused, and asked, "Why isn't he?" Lucario shook his head,

"It is nothing that concerns you, I will be training in another place, you are free to go around the palace" I nodded at him, "But don't disturb me" I nodded my head again and Lucario left me.

I sat down on my bed and took in a deep breath, smiling at my fortune, and then noticed Lady Ilene enter the room.

"Hello Alex, do you like the palace" I smiled at her,

"Yes, it is a very beautiful place" I began to think about the festival and Lady Ilene noticed this,

"Do you have something on you mind?" I looked at her,

"Yes, Lucario said something about a festival for Sir Aaron that is going to take place" Lady Ilene smiled at me,

"Yes, the festival will take place next week, you are welcome to participate"

"What is it about?"

"We have a yearly festival where people come dressed in medieval costumes, we then hold a Pokemon battle, and the winner will be named champion, and then a dance will take place, followed by fireworks" I lightened up at the idea,

"That sounds great!" She smiled at me,

"It will be, you should participate… Maybe not in the Pokemon battles as you lack Pokemon, but the dance and rest will be fun for you, you could even dress up" That reminded me, I had no clothes at all.

"Lady Ilene, I have nothing to wear… at all… not even for tomorrow" She walked closer to me,

"Don't worry, I will get someone to send you some clothes" I smiled at her,

"Thank-you for you hospitality"

"Not to worry, you should spend this week getting familiar with the surroundings" I nodded and she walked out the room.

I got up, off my bed, and walked outside, looking around the pond as the sun shone down on me. I began walking around the Palace, noting which way led to which hallway, and so on, it was large, but I was able to familiarize myself with different things.

I looked out of one of the windows and, to my surprise, I found Lucario. He was running from one end of a field, to the other – nonstop. I looked at his determination as he sweated, pushing his legs to the limit to ensure that he would get stronger and faster, I was not sure why, he was already fast enough. I smiled, although he disliked being around me, or so I thought, something about him made me feel happy, and I closed my eyes as the heat from the rays of the sun hit my face.

I decided to walk around even more, and walking along, my eye connected with something in a room. I walked towards it, entranced by it, there was no-one around, I walked up to it and smiled happily, it was a large, shining white piano; sitting in the middle of an empty room, its pearly white and black keys glistened from the light coming in through the windows. I sat down on the bench, and gazed happily at the keys; I could play the piano very well, and I loved to play around on the white keys, allowing parts of my life to play in perfect harmony with the beautiful sound emitted from it.

I lay my fingers on the keys, it was soft at my touch, I picked a place where I would play, and pressed one of the keys, and from it, a sound so pure and clean came from it, that it would stop any noise from disrupting it. I closed my eyes, thought about what I what had happened - I always liked to get in a particular mood before playing – and then began to press the keys.

My melody was high pitched and soft, the sound flowing slowly, and trickling around the room – it's simple melody bringing music around the empty room. I let my body sway with the music, allowing the melody to move me whichever way it wished, and then I softened the sound, slithering my fingers down on the keys on the piano, until it slowly came to an end. I smiled at what I had created, this made me even happier than before. I stood up, looked around the room to make sure no-one had heard me, and then walked out.

I walked back to my room, satisfied with my day, happy how things were going for me, and I sat on the edge of the pond, crossed my legs, and played the melody over and over inside my head, smiling as I let the sound create scenes in my head. Little did I know that someone was listening to the short melody I played, and that someone left the room as I did, with a smile.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter :D_

_I love adding pianos to stories, dunno why :)_

_R & R :P_


	3. A Trip Down Agony Lane

_Hey, Here's the next chapter!_

_Thanks for the comment on Alex's appearence, I have placed it on my profile page for those who wish to see it :p_

_Hope you enjoy the next chapter,_

_Alex: Why the hell do I get thr- (Voice is muffled by a large hand)_

_Hmm... You know... I've been wondering... The Alex that talks here has compleately different characteristics from the Alex in the story..._

_Alex: (Gets Free) No I don't! I'm just P***** off cuz you made me fal- (She is crushed by a large...boat hehe)_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

- Chapter 3-

**A Trip Down Agony Lane**

_Next Morning…_

My eyes fluttered open as the warm rays touched my face; I smiled at the feeling and then sat up on my bed. The bedroom I was in was comfortable, and I easily fell asleep. Looking to the side I found some clothes piled on a chair, and I immediately seized them, curious as to what they looked like. It was a slim, white top accompanied by dark blue jeans, along with the necessities such as a pair of and socks, and a lilac bra. I liked what Lady Ilene had chosen for me, and went to the shower, to get ready for the day.

The clothes fitted me perfectly, and they looked nice on me as well. Happy, I walked to Lucario's room and found that he wasn't there so I searched around and found him training outside, next to the pond. "Hi Lucario, did you have a good night sleep?" Lucario turned to me and looked at my clothes,

"I see Lady Ilene brought you some new clothes"

"Yes, do you like them" I stood, eager for an answer from the ignorant blue Pokemon

"It looks fine" Lucario replied as he turned around and began to stare at the pond.

I sighed at his answer, I wasn't expecting much, but I did expect some more than 'fine'. I joined him by the pond and smiled at our reflection, but Lucario just looked away when he saw me approaching. I thought of a way to get his attention, "So… Have you been here long Lucario?"

"That should be of no concern to you"

"I'm just trying to be nice…"

"Don't"

Lucario turned around and walked to the castle walls, where he then laid his back against the wall and closed his eyes, and I sighed in disappointment, when I had and idea. I took of my shoes and socks, rolled up my pants and sat on the edge of the pond, with my feet lying inside. "Mm… This is nice… Why don't you come and join me Lucario?"

Lucario stood up straight and glared at me, "And why would I?"

I looked at him confused, "I dunno, it's relaxing and I'm sure you'd enjoy it"

Lucario seemed to get angrier, "How would you know? You don't know me human"

"What? I'm not saying that, I just thought you'd li-"

"No! I would not like to be near any of your kind!" and with that he ran, leaving me confused.

I got up and prepared to follow Lucario, when Lady Ilene stopped me as she walked appeared from one of the castle doors, "Don't follow him, it would serve you no good"

I looked at her, "But I just don't understand what's wrong with Lucario"

"Come help me with setting up some decorations for the festival; I'll tell you a bit about his past"

I nodded at her, "Okay" and we walked into the castle, where she then led me to one of the main halls.

She handed me a set of flowers, similar to the ones she was carrying herself, and led me to a place where we would set them up.

"Lucario hasn't had a very good past I'm afraid"

I looked at her, "What happened?"

* * *

_Two weeks before…At night, __inside the throne room…_

Lady Ilene was sat down on her throne when the old servant came in, smiling, "Are you excited for the festival your highness?"

The pink princess smiled back at the servant, "Yes, it will be fun, like all the others"

The servant lifted a wooden staff from one of the corners in the hall, and smiled at the reflection from the crystal ball which lay on top of the staff. "I see the others have already cleaned the staff up"

"Yes, they made sure it was properly ready for the festival"

"Well, they have done a very good job; it looks beautiful, as it has always done"

Lady Ilene nodded, but was interrupted by another young servant who hurried into the room, "Lady, there is some trouble, we need assistance"

"Very well, lead the way" and she followed the young man, along with the old servant.

_

* * *

In the present…_

Lady Ilene smiled at me, "That staff is the very same staff we hand to the winner of the Pokemon battle at the festival"

"May I see it?"

She shook her head, "Not yet, the others are placing it in a safe place"

I lowered my head, "Oh, okay…"

"Do you want me to continue on the story?"

I smiled at her, "Yes, please"

_

* * *

Two weeks before… Hallway leading back to the throne room…_

Lady Ilene was walking back to the throne room, smiling at the stars that shone through the window, when something caught her attention. She heard shaking coming from the throne room, followed by a blue light. She hurried to the throne room and covered her eyes as the light, which she found came from the staff, blinded her. When the light had disappeared, she slowly uncovered her eyes and gasped at what she saw.

There was a blue Pokemon knelt down on the floor, and he looked angry. The princess walked into the throne room slowly, "Who are you?"

The blue Pokemon stood up, and the sacks on the side of its head lifted horizontally, "Lady Ilene! Is the palace safe?"

Lady Ilene looked confused at the blue Pokemon, "Excuse me?"

"The palace, how is it, have the armies reached here yet?"

"I am not sure what you are talking about"

The Pokemon slowly opened his eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me?"

"Should I?"

His mouth opened, as if in shock, but before he could reply, another voice came from the corridor, "He is Lucario"

Lady Ilene turned to find the old servant walking closer to them, "He was with Sir Aaron" Lucario squinted, "Long ago, when there were two armies fighting, do you not remember the story I told you when you were smaller?"

"Ah yes, when the story about the two armies that were going to attack, and destroy the palace and my ancestor in the process, and that's when the brave knight, Sir Aaron, saved us correct?"

She nodded at the princess, but behind her, Lucario narrowed his eyes in confusion, "What do you mean long ago"

Lady Ilene turned to Lucario, and smiled hopefully at him, now that she knew who he was, "Back in old times, there was a legend that the castle was caught between two armies, and then your mentor Sir Aaron saved us. We know that you where his apprentice, but you were lost and unfound, it was presumed you left with Sir Aaron, but I guess you have been in that staff this whole time… In other words, you have been asleep a long time my friend" and with that, she went to Lucario and hugged him.

"What? But it…it can't be! I was here, only a few days ago!"

Lady Ilene released her grasp and shook her head sorrowfully, "I am sorry Lucario, but the fact is that you haven't walked this palace in centuries"

"N-No…" Lucario walked back, saddened and confused, before he sprinted off, and leapt out of the window.

_

* * *

In the present…_

I looked at Lady Ilene, shocked, "So Lucario has been alive for…Centuries?"

She nodded at me, "With further study of the staff, we found that Pokemon can survive a very long time, one century being one day for the Pokemon inside the staff"

"Wow… How was he placed in the staff?"

"When he came back, after running off, he came to me and told me some things"

_

* * *

In the past… The throne room…_

Lucario was knelt in front of Lady Ilene, who was sat on her throne,

"You are welcome to stay as long as you wish Lucario, this palace is, and always will be your home"

He nodded, "Thank-you Lady Ilene, but I have some questions I need answered"

She looked at him confused, "Oh, and what would this be?"

He looked up at her, "It's about Sir…" he paused, "Sir Aaron. Why do you see him as a hero?"

"Because, he saved us"

"But that's impossible!" The loudness in his voice startled her, "My apologies… But Sir Aaron deserted the castle, and then he trapped me in the staff" Lucario's eyes became watery, and he closed his eyes to avoid crying.

"What?"

"Sir Aaron said that he was leaving, and was never coming back, and the trapped me when I tried to follow"

Lady Ilene was shocked with what she heard, "We will have to put further study into what really happened, but for now" Lucario looked up as her hand rested on his shoulder, "Rest my friend, you need it"

_

* * *

The present…_

Night came, and Lady Ilene smiled at me

"That is what happened, and is probably why he is so ill-natured towards humans"

I looked at the floor, "Wow… I can't believe he was so maltreated"

"Unfortunately these things happen, there's not much we can do to prevent it"

I nodded slowly and looked at her, "May I leave for a while?"

She smiled at me, "Of course, but be careful if you wish to speak to Lucario, he is in a saddened state at the moment"

I nodded and left the room in a hurry. Running outside, I looked around and found the blue Pokemon sat in a meditated state, under a tree. I walked up towards him, "Lucario"

He tilted his head towards me, his eyes were closed, "What do you want?"

"May I join you?"

Lucario sat silently, and I sat next to him, taking a deep breath whilst doing so, unsure whether his silence was a 'yes' or an annoyed 'no'.

I smiled and sat in a position similar to Lucario's, before I closed my eyes, and breathed in deeply, "So, why were you so angry before; when you ran away?"

"That's nothing to do with you" his tone was slightly agitated but it didn't stop me,

"Was it from a bad memory or something?"

Lucario looked down angrily, and when I looked, I saw that he was showing his fangs, "I told you, it has nothing to do with you, so stop asking"

I immediately stopped, afraid for my welfare, "Okay, I'm sorry" Lucario didn't reply, and I thought of something else to talk about, "May I ask something else?"

Lucario tensely replied, "What…"

"Well, before, when you were chasing me, how did you find where I was?"

He paused a bit, before replying "I used my Aura"

I blinked, "Excuse me?"

"Aura is the essence in all living things, I am able to use it to find things in the distance or to do other things, people have named me the Aura Pokemon"

"Wow that sounds exciting, do you think I could use it?"

He snapped at me, "No, humans are to weak and too deceiving to use it"

I looked down disappointed, "Oh… Okay" Lucario looked away, "What do you mean that it is the essence in all living things?"

"Every living thing had a unique Aura which I can sense, and each has different distinct features"

"Such as?"

"Lady Ilene has a calm Aura, which reflects on her personality"

"And what about mine?"

He sat quietly, "Your Aura is similar, but slightly stronger than hers"

"Thank-you Lucario, I think that's the closest you have ever come to a compliment"

"That wasn't a complement, it was an answer" He got up and began walking away from me, "I am heading back to my room to rest"

I got up, "I'll come with you, I am quite tired from helping with the decorations"

Lucario continued on walking, as if he hadn't heard anything I said, but I ran to the side of him and followed.

We reached the pond, and I walked on the edge of it, smiling at my reflection in the calm, blue water.

My thoughts were interrupted by Lucario, "You should be careful"

I looked at Lucario, surprised by his gentle warning, "I will thank-you"

I glared at me, "That wasn't a kind gesture, just a warning"

"Oh…Ahh!" The ground I stepped on slipped away and I fell into the water. It was as cold as it was blue, and it was deep. I swam up and splashed the water away from my face, intent on getting some air that I had lost on my descent. I tried to open my eyes, but water kept pouring in and this caused them to close.

Suddenly, I was pulled out of the misty water by a black paw, owned by Lucario. I lay on all fours, gasping for air, and then looked up at Lucario, who was already walking away from me, "I warned you to be careful" I sighed and walked to my room, smiling in my mind as I thought about Lucario saving me. I walked into my room and had a shower, relieved at the warmth of the water as it hit my naked body.

After I dried off, I placed the towel around my body, and knocked on my door which led into Lucario's room. After hearing no answer I slowly opened the door, Lucario?" I found no-one in his room. Confused, I walked around and to my surprise, found Lucario sat outside by the pond, he was staring at his reflection. I heard him muttering things and I walked closer to him.

Lucario closed his eyes painfully, "Why Aaron…Why did you leave me?"

I looked sadly towards him, and walked to Lucario, forgetting I was wearing a towel – I was hoping to comfort Lucario.

"Lucario"

Lucario turned swiftly at me and angrily said, "What do you want?"

"I just want to help you, I don't like seeing you in pain like this" I paused, awaiting an answer.

"There's nothing you can do to help me"

"But Lucario, you have to open up to someone, it isn't good if you keep things inside"

Lucario got up, and looked at me, "Not if you are talking to someone who is not trustworthy"

I sighed, "Well, what will take to get you to trust me?"

He turned around, "Nothing. I'm going to train for a while." And he walked away.

I walked back into my room, upset about being unable to help Lucario, "I will earn his trust somehow…" and with that, I changed into some comfortable clothes and lay in my bed, thinking about some way to help Lucario.

* * *

_Hope you have enjoyed it_

_I don't fell that bad about Alex falling into the pond..._

_Alex: I do... (Goes off to sulk)_

_Aww... Poor Alex... Nah..._

_R & R Please :p_


	4. Trial and Improvment

_Thank-you for your patience!_

_I am very sorry about te delay for this chapter, but I've been piled with alot of things, anyway it should be back to normal again. (The Updates)_

_Alex: Yay! This Chapter has alot of me in it... hehehehehe..._

_Why is the Alex here different in characteristics from the Alex in the story?_

_Alex: Cuz yeah! I'm the fun loving one who likes to (Brick falls heavily on her)_

_Not sure what she was going to say... But I figured it wouldn't be appropiate..._

_Anyway, Enjoy!_

_

* * *

_

- Chapter 4 -

**Trial and Improvements**

_4:16 am…_

My eyes slowly fluttered open, my ears scanned for a noise which woke me up, I heard a grunt followed by paces and I turned my head groggily towards the open window above my bed. I waited for a few seconds of silence before I closed my eyes again and sighed back into my sleep. My eyes opened at the noises again, I rolled my eyes, frustrated at its interruption of my sleep and sat up, stretched my back and peered out of the window.

It was Lucario… He was running outside, as he did every night, but he had never trained this long before. I lay my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, I knew he was training so hard and long because of the memories about his past, but I couldn't get the fact that it was my fault for bringing it up out of my mind - and this made me nervous. I didn't know why I was so uncomfortable about how he was, or why I was sad for him, but I knew that I wanted to help him.

I sat up, and leaned my back against the wall, where I then tilted my head back and thought about my past, before the death of my parents, when I was filled with hate and anguish instead of the sadness that I felt now that they were gone.

_Two Months Ago…_

"Alex, what are you doing?" I was sat in my room, on my wooden desk, reading a book called '_A Heart-Shaped Locket__'_, my mum had been bothering me for weeks on end, she kept wanting to know every single detail in my life, and I had gotten sick of it.

"Nothing mum, just reading" The words came out angrier than I wanted, and she noticed it,

"You don't need to be so angry, it's only a question" I tilted my head to my right and scrunched my lips a bit - her typical reaction,

"I'm not angry"

She walked towards me, making it worse, "I only want to know what's going on with you, you've been so moody these past few weeks… Are you going through the phase?"

I sighed tiredly; 'the phase' was her way of saying period, "No mum"

That's when she pulled out her 'guilt card', as I thought, "Well fine, don't tell your mother what is going on in your life, but don't complain to me if something's wrong" and she left in an angry manner.

I looked at the ceiling and growled at air, I hate it when she does that, I have been keeping a lot of things inside me these past weeks, my mum was always complaining about everything I did, and she would always either twist my words when I fought back or leave in her own little tantrum, I gave up on trying and now its got me angry every second of the day.

The worst part of it all was that her trump card always worked on me; I still cared about her, and I could never stop myself from being convinced that she was actually hurt about what I said. I slammed my book on the desk in front of me – the sound echoed through the house and sure enough my mum heard it. She burst back into the room and glared at me, her hands shaking at her sides, "What do you think you are doing?"

I cowered down, that is usually what happens; my own little isolated state is where I always go when I am in an argument because I know I can't win. Her temper increased and her face was turning slightly red, "Well?"

I looked to the side and kept my eyes focused on the trees outside of my window, letting my imagination take over, thinking about a life without her - the one thing that kept me happy, I knew it was sad and wrong but I had so much hate for her – I hoped that she would leave as I ignored her, but she kept her position.

"Alex, why are you so angry?" I began to breathe slowly and deeply, she had no idea what she was doing; every little word she exclaimed dug into my mind, and every phrase that she repeated filled me with more hate. I bit my lower lip, and kept my eyes focused on the tree, I didn't want to fight back, I just wanted her to go away and leave me to myself, but she wouldn't stop, "Are you going to answer me then?"

I took in a heavy sigh and shook my head. She turned and looked up at the door frame, trying her best not to let hell loose on me; she was smart enough to know that more anger wouldn't help us, "Fine." And she left in a hurry, her loud, thumping footsteps mirroring her anger. That night I sat in my bed and cried continuously, careful so as not to alert anyone in the house, I was badly hurt… And there was so much I wanted to say and do, but I was too scared to do – I knew it wouldn't do any good… And that's how I spent every day…

_Present…_

I snapped back into reality by a door that closed in Lucario's room, he must have pushed himself to his limit because I heard him fall heavily on his bed. I walked quietly towards the door and slowly opened it, enough to peer at Lucario; my suspicions were right, he was in a deep sleep, lying on top of his neatly laid quilt cover. I slowly closed my door and lay back in my bed, and I had come to a decision – Thinking about how I felt about my parents, I decided to try and get Lucario to open up about how he was feeling, I thought that it would make him feel better, especially when I reminisced about my feelings towards my deceased mother, which I regret every minute of every day.

Morning came, I was sat on my bed; I couldn't get much sleep thinking about my parents, I was happy that the suns rays brought light into my room. I took to the morning routine I had made; I had a shower, got dressed and made sure I looked presentable for the day. I entered into Lucario's room and found it empty, as usual, I pondered as to how he managed to have enough energy to be able to get up after all the training he did.

I found Lucario practising his fighting techniques outside, and he didn't appear to be the least bit tired. I casually walked by him, trying not to look at him too much, and pleasantly said, "Good morning Lucario, did you have a good night?"

He kicked his foot into the air, "It was fine"

I didn't give up, "Really? I think I saw you running about the castle early in the morning"

He twisted his body in an arch shape and glided his leg across the air swiftly, "What I do is of no concern to you"

I rolled my eyes, "Are you ever going to speak to me properly?"

"No" He abruptly replied.

"But you talked to me yesterday remember? About Aura?"

He threw a combination of punches, "What's your point?"

I blinked at him, "Well… Don't you think we can have a conversation like that?"

I noticed that he was getting annoyed by his narrowing eyes, "No"

I began to get as agitated as he did, "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to, that only happened once and that's all, now leave me be"

I turned around and began to walk away, "You have to talk to someone someday y'know?" He ignored what I said and I sighed, walking away to the dining halls to have breakfast. The food I asked for was nice; a plate of eggs, bacon and sausages. As I ate, I thought about what to do with Lucario.

I sat and wondered about how I would be able to get closer to him; if I knew what to talk about with him then I would be able to carry a conversation. I rested my hand on my chin and gazed at the large, white ceiling above me… nothing.

Frustrated, I stood up and rushed out of the room, I was going to speak to Lady Ilene to see if I could get anymore information about Lucario. I walked along the hallway, letting my fingers slip around the wall, its smooth surface gliding my fingers.

I suddenly stopped at a familiar voice, it was Lucario. I walked closer to the source of his voice and peered around an archway which led into the main hallway. Lucario was talking with Lady Ilene, and by the echoes of their voice, due to the large hall, I was able to make out what they were talking about.

"Lucario, you should join in at the festival, I know you would enjoy it" Lady Ilene smiled at the blue Pokemon.

"No thank-you, I'd rather not" Lucario spoke in a calm, soft voice, unlike when he talked to me.

Lady Ilene walked closer to Lucario, and in a softened tone said, "Not to worry, you don't have to, I just thought it might keep your mind off your problems"

Lucario turned around, "No, it won't" He turned back towards her, "Thank-you for the offer"

Lady Ilene looked disappointed, "Well, if you change your mind, you are always welcome to join"

"Thank-you Lady Ilene, but I won't change my mind"

"Very well, I will leave you soon, I need to organise a few last minute decorations for the festival tomorrow"

Lucario nodded, "I will be leaving now to train"

Lady Ilene nodded and he walked away. I walked in, and made sure Lucario wasn't close enough to hear, although I was unsure of how far that was; even with the closed doors I was sure those long, blue ears would catch something I would say. Lady Ilene noticed me and smiled, "Hello Alex, how are you?"

I smiled back at her, "I am fine thanks, but could I ask a question?"

Lady Ilene came closer to me, "You may"

I took in a deep breath, "Well, besides last night, is there anything else you know about Lucario?"

She shook her head, "No, all I know is what I told you last time we spoke, unfortunately" She looked at me curiously, "Why do you ask?"

I chuckled a bit, "Not for anything bad, I just want to know more about him"

She smiled again, "Is there any specific reason why you want to know more about him?"

I shifted my eyes, and looked away, "Well, I think if I can find out more about him I might be able to relate to him more, and maybe I can help him with his problem"

She placed a hand on my shoulder, "That is very kind of you"

I smiled at her, "Thank-you" I looked to the side and thought for while before I turned back to her, "I do have an idea though"

She listened attentively, "What is that?"

"What if I stay around him more? Maybe I can learn more. What do you think?"

She agreed, "Yes, that may be helpful"

I turned around and began to walk in Lucario's direction before I was stopped by her voice, "Alex"

I turned towards her, "Yes?"

"Don't take it too far though; he is still in a fragile state"

I nodded happily and rushed out the door that Lucario left through. I found Lucario walking across the long, white bridge and followed slowly, making sure that my distance from him was far enough so as not to alert him. I looked around the bridge and saw no places where I could hide whilst I followed, so I slowly followed a few metres behind him, taking note of my footsteps; making sure that the thuds coming from the ground were as quiet as possible.

Whilst crossing, I kept my eyes fixed on Lucario. He was walking at a steady pace, but he seemed to be fixed on something ahead of him, in the woods; that must have been why he wasn't looking back, he would have seen me straight away as I paced behind him. I kept note my shadow too; from the suns position, my shadow and his were facing in the direction we were heading, and I had to keep even further back so he wouldn't notice my shadow either.

We reached the end of the bridge and Lucario walked into the forest on the left side of the path, and I followed him slowly. It became harder to follow him as his pace quickened; he seemed eager to get to a certain place. The leaves weren't any help at all; I had to slowly push them aside, careful to avoid any rustling.

I was surprised at Lucario's ignorance to my presence; whatever he seemed to be following must have been something important for him to be unaware of me. I heard low muttering from Lucario, and I closed in further, sharpening my ears to hear what he was saying; I knew it was wrong for me to eavesdrop, but I needed too.

"Why…" Lucario kept muttering the same word every few steps he made, I knew what he was thinking about, but I kept listening, hoping to find out something. Lucario stopped walking and I pressed my back against a tree; peering my head around the corner slightly.

Ahead of us was a small clearing, surrounded by trees. As I peered closer at the top of the trees, I saw several logs tied to a group of different trees, and I turned my attention to Lucario when he began to speak.

"Why master…Why did you abandon me?" Lucario walked forward slowly, his arms moving edgily by his sides, I could tell he was nervous about this place and I moved closer to see if I could figure out why. Lucario knelt down and bowed his head, "Why did you leave? Why did you suddenly abandon the Queen?"

I moved cautiously to the side of the clearing, where I was able to see more, and I could see tears trickling down Lucario's soft, blue fur on his face; I was shocked at it.

Suddenly his sadness was replaced by anger, he stood up, glaring at the logs and gritted his fangs together, "You abandoned the Queen and myself when you were need the most…" He walked tensely forward, "You fled… Leaving all of us to suffer" He began to shake a little and I walked closer.

"Guaaargh!" Lucario yelled as he unleashed a series of Aura spheres at the dangling logs and destroyed several of them simultaneously. When they were all reduced to crumbling pieces of wood, Lucario walked back from them, glaring angrily as he breathed heavily. He looked up into the sky and shouted into the air, letting out as much frustration as he could, and he then collapsed onto his hands and knees and continuously asked, "Why!"

I stared at Lucario sadly, and made a mistake. I stepped on a twig and before I realized what I had done, Lucario was already standing up and facing in my direction, "Who's there?" I ducked under the bush that was in front of me; but this just angered him even further, "Answer me!" I kept quiet.

I looked through the leaves that covered me and Lucario angrily glared in my direction. He narrowed his eyes and growled menacingly, before he lowered his head and spotted me with his Aura . He sharply lifted his head, "You…" He growled louder at me and I stood up slowly, not wanting to push him even further.

He walked closer to me, "How long have you been following me?" I kept quiet, "Answer me!"

I began to rub the top of my left hand with my right hand, "I…"

"Answer me…" He growled

"Since you were walking across the bridge…"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "How much did you hear?" He asked quietly, in a low, tense tone.

I managed to stutter a lie, "N-Not much"

His voice grew louder, "How much?" I bit my lip and he narrowed his eyes at me, "Tell me now"

I took in a deep breath, "Just the part where you shouted in the air" I was a good liar, thanks to my mum, but I was worried at whether or not Lucario would believe it.

"You better not be lying to me" I shook my head scarcely, still worried that he would see through my façade.

I tried to reason with him, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I-I"

"Just go back to the palace and leave me alone" He growled the last part.

I nodded my head vigorously and quickly paced away from him, heading back across the bridge towards the palace. I walked quickly across the bridge, my heart was pacing as fast as I walked, my eyes were slightly watery, and my hands were shaking at my sides.

Walking through the doors leading to the main hall was relieving, I wasn't happy about lying to Lucario, but I was glad that he didn't do anything to me. Lady Ilene walked through one of the arches and smiled at me, "Hello Alex"

I smiled at her, not wanting for her to find out about the incident, "Hi Lady Ilene" She sat down on her throne.

"Alex, do you mind doing me a favour?"

I walked towards her, "S-Sure"

Lady Ilene noticed my stutter, "Are you alright Alex?"

I shook my head quickly, "Yes, just thinking about something" Lucario's figure crossed through my mind.

She smiled at me again, "Good. As for the favour, could you help some of the servant's set-up the Pokemon stadium?"

"Sure, shall I go now?" She nodded and I left towards the battle ground.

When I got to the area I saw a young man pushing a small machine to create the white lines for the Pokemon arena. I smiled and walked towards him, temporarily forgetting about the incident, "Hello".

He turned towards me; he was wearing a white servant suit, with neatly cut, blond hair and green eyes, "Hi, I'm guessing Lady Ilene sent you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, she said something about helping?"

He nodded in response, "Yeah, I need someone to sweep the ground to make sure the earth is smooth, not important, but it makes this place look more presentable. Could you grab one of the brooms on the side and start?"

I nodded and grabbed one of the wooden brooms. As I brushed the ground, I reminisced about Lucario, and how angry he was; I knew I shouldn't have eavesdropped, instead of finding out things about him to get closer, I just made it worse.

The servant pushed the machine by my side and asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little bit on edge"

I smiled at him, "I'm fine, just thinking about something"

"What would that be?" He shook his head, "Sorry, you don't have to answer"

I chuckled, "Don't worry…" I trailed off and frowned, I had just noticed that I didn't know his name but he realized,

"Eric"

I blinked at him, "What?"

He chuckled, "My name is Eric"

I smiled, "I'm Alex" I paused, "Well, it's nothing, it's just a problem with a Pokemon"

He instinctively knew who I was talking about, "Its Lucario isn't it?"

I shook my head warily, "Yeah"

He shook his head and laughed, "Lucario is an odd Pokemon"

I tilted my head, "How?"

He stopped pushing the machine and turned to me, "Well, he is a Pokemon who resents all humans, plus he is the only Pokemon we know about that can sense Aura's" He paused, "Do you know what Aura is?"

I nodded, "He explained it to me once, but that's as close as I have come to talking" I sighed and then asked, "I gather that almost everyone knows why he is resentful?"

He shook his head, "No, only he and Lady Ilene know, do you know?"

I shook my head not wanting to say something I shouldn't, "No"

He laughed, "Thought so… Doesn't matter"

I became curious, "Is there anything that you know Lucario may like?"

He pushed the machine slowly, and pointed his head in my direction, "No, normally Pokemon like different types of food; like strawberries, all that stuff. They also enjoy battling and all sorts of things, but Lucario is just different, he seems so focused on his training and won't allow any type of conversation with him" I looked away, I knew the reason why Lucario was like that, but I looked back to see if I could find out anything else, "Well… I don't think anyone can really figure him out" He ended with a small chuckle.

I sighed and continued on sweeping, I hoped that he would tell me something to help me, but in the end he just told me what I already knew.

_Later On… 9.47pm…_

I had just finished sweeping the stadium with Eric – who helped me after he had finished marking the arena. Dark came quicker than expected, the stars glistened in the empty night. Eric and I had been talking about casual stuff throughout the day, and we were amazed at how fast the day went by.

I placed my broom on the side where I first got it and waved at Eric, "See ya Eric, thanks for the help" He smiled and waved me off, and I walked into the castle. Walking around I paused several times at different windows to admire the view; it was always perfect since the first night I stayed at this castle. I could see the night sky reflecting off the calm blue waters that surrounded the trees and castle.

I continued walking through the castle, searching for Lady Ilene; in case there might have been anything else she wanted me to do. I walked down two flights of stairs and walked past a garden. I paused again and looked outside the windows – counting it as the fifth time since I started, but I saw something surprising.

Lucario was meditating in the centre of the garden, back facing towards me. But that wasn't what was so odd; he continuously wiped his eyes and kept breathing heavily. I moved closer towards him, walking outside one of the doors; unintentionally wanting to know why he was supposedly crying, I was entranced by him.

"Why did you leave me here?"

He was crying about his past again. I shook my head, returning to reality and walked towards him, wanting to comfort him. Lucario's ear twitched and he twisted his head back at me, glaring angrily, "What are you doing here?"

I stopped and looked at him, "I-I want to help you" thoughts from our previous encounter caused me to stutter and he noticed.

He narrowed his eyes and stood up, "You lie… You were eavesdropping on me again!" I immediately saw the danger from the tone of his voice,

"N-No! I was walking from the Battle Arena and I saw you here, I just wanted t-"

"Don't try to fool me!"

My lips sealed shut, my eyes focused completely on his red, glaring eyes.

He walked a step closer, "Why do you keep following me!"

My breath caught in my throat, "I…"

He growled more menacingly and angrily than he had ever done before, "Answer me!"

I still couldn't say anything, my breath was caught and my mind was buzzing with words to say,

He narrowed his eyes at me and muttered in a low voice, "Answer me…"

"I-I" I was unable to utter anything else, my lips quivered and my hands were shaking violently at my sides, his voice, along with his violent posture completely instilled me in fear.

The atmosphere grew quiet, I could see Lucario shaking with pure anger, but I was unable to do anything, fear completely froze me, all my muscles had shut-down from response and my heart beat paced faster than it had done before.

That's when Lucario's rage hit its peak. "GUUARRRGH!" He unleashed a large, blue Aura sphere at me and my eyes widened at the blue orb speeding towards me.

My body was still unresponsive to me; I was a sitting duck, but something happened. The blue orb sped past me – he must have been trying to intimidate me further. That didn't stop the effect on me. The Aura Sphere crashed into the wall behind me and the outburst of the explosion threw my stiff, petrified body across the floor.

I grunted in pain, placed my hands on the floor, and I pushed myself up, my mind wondering what was happening. When I heard growling I averted my eyes in his direction, looking at him through my hair that lay over my face; not wanting to show the tears that began to fill my eyes.

Lucario glared at me, "If I ever catch you eavesdropping on me again, that sphere will not miss."

I stood up and grabbed my arm where it began to throb in pain. My eyes were fixed on his position. "I"

"LEAVE!"

The ferociousness of his voice made my body shake in fear. I turned quickly and ran into the castle, heading to my room. I ran through the halls; tears were now flowing down my cheeks freely, my hands were shaking violently and my lips quivering quickly. I looked forward and saw Lady Ilene walking out one of the arches.

She noticed me and looked at me worryingly; I must have been in a bad state if she could see that something was wrong with me. "Alex is som-" She was unable to finish; I was already past her, uncaring whether or not anyone saw me crying anymore.

I slammed the door to my room open and rushed to my bed, where I sat down and buried my face into my hands. I continuously cried into my hands, which were now soaked in pain stricken tears as I muttered, "He's right…"

_

* * *

Two Weeks before the death of my parents…_

I was sat lazily in my room, looking at the emptiness that my room had to offer. My mum interrupted my thoughts; and coming into my room, she asked, "Alex, why don't you tell me anything?"

I twisted my head away from her; I didn't want to speak to her.

Her voice was desperate, "Alex… Why don't you say anything? Do you hate me?"

I began to grow angrier, and she continued,

"Well? Tell me something"

I muttered and she walked closer, "What was that?"

I let my voice grow louder, "You don't deserve to know"

She looked at me confused, "What do you mean? I'm your mother"

I looked at her, "Would a mother look through my personal stuff?"

She became defensive, "Well, I just wanted to know what was going on in your life and try to stop these moods that you have with me"

I laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, and looking through _all_ my personal stuff, constantly asking me what's wrong and shouting at me because I don't tell you why is really going to make everything better isn't it?" I growled the last part.

She looked at me sadly, her eyes were shaking, "Alex…"

I stood up quickly, hatred leading me, "Don't try and think that I'm at fault for this, like you always do!"

"Alex, I didn't want t-"

I sat down gruffly, "Save it." And she left slowly out of my room.

_

* * *

In the present…_

I bowed my head, "I can't believe I did that… I just…" I buried my face into my pillow and cried harder.

It took about an hour to stop crying so much, my pillow was drenched and my eyes were dry from the constant crying. Calming down, I stood up and walked across my room, "I need to apologize to him" I began to walk out my room and stopped at the door handle; I couldn't see him in my state.

I turned around, when I began to think, "C'mon breathe in" I took in a deep breath, "Out" I let out a deep breath and tilted my head back, I was still shaking. I had a thought to help calm me down. The piano. It always calms me down when I play the piano, it always has done; it was like a fuel tank to fill with my hate, sadness or loneliness.

I left my room and went to where the piano was and I sat down on the bench. My hands shook as I lay them onto the white and black keys, my head still buzzing. I played at a high note, slowly and solemnly. The pace was slow and soft. From the top, I slid down the piano, as I had done the last time I played; my hands shook less and less as I continued.

The melody crescendoed louder and more gracious as it progressed; the images of what had just happened swirled through my mind as I imagined Lucario's anger and my shaken eyes; I let the image portray the sound that emanated from the piano. The sound played into a continuous melody that played at a high pitch, it continued and I closed my eyes, letting fresh tears drip down my face.

_BANG!_

The music stopped and my head faced the door where I came through. I was certain that I heard a sound coming from there.

"Who's there?" No-one answered, I shook my head and walked towards the door slowly. I ducked around the corner quietly and saw nothing, and then quickly twisted my head in the opposite direction but again saw nothing. There weren't even any fallen items that could have made the noise.

I shook my head again, "What was that?" I took note of how my body was; I wasn't shaking violently anymore and I had stopped stuttering. I walked across the hallways and searched for Lucario.

On my way to the garden I bumped into Lady Ilene, who walked out one of the doors, "Sorry"

She smiled at me, "Don't worry" She paused, "How are you after that incident?"

I looked at her surprised, "Y-You know?"

She nodded, "Yes, when I saw you crying, and running away I immediately went to Lucario and he told me all that happened. You shouldn't have eavesdropped on him"

I looked down, "I know, I am going to apologize to him; I just hope he can forgive me"

She lifted my head, "Don't worry, after time he will"

I smiled and walked off, continuing my search for Lucario.

Lucario was sat outside in the garden as he was before. I walked out slowly and Lucario heard me, "What do you want?"

"I… I just wanted to say sorry, I-I shouldn't have done what I did"

He didn't reply and I continued, "I just wanted to help you… I didn't expect this to happen"

He sharply said "Don't"

I looked at him, "What?"

He was still sitting down, "Don't try to help me. I don't want your help"

I looked away from him, "I'm sorry"

After a few seconds of silence I asked, "Do you forgive me?"

He took some time to reply, "No" My heart dropped, "But I understand the reason why you did it"

I smiled at him.

I walked away after a few seconds of the silence, and went to my room, where I lay in my bed and closed my eyes, uncaring about what I wore.

That night I fell asleep thinking about Lucario, and I dreamt about everything that occurred today… Including him…

* * *

_Hmm.. Things have spiced up in this chapter ;)_

_R & R :P_


	5. The Festival

_Hi, again everyone._

_Sorry for re-posting this chapter, but looking over some parts, along with some helpful reviews, I had to change something in this chapter, it wouldn't work if I put it in the next chapter._

_The change is at the end, nothing else has changed, so you don't need to re-read the entire thing._

_Again, sorry, It won't happen again; especially since I'll be stopping writing at three in the morning..._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**The Festival**

The world around me is dark… I begin to fear that I am blind… I hold out my hands and my heart lifts as I could see them – I wasn't blind. I walked forward, wondering what I was standing on, and wondering if there was anyway out of the darkness. The void of emptiness scared me; but what worried me more was the fact that I had no clue as to where I was.

"Alex"

I turn my head around in the darkness, following the voice. I saw my mum and dad smiling at me and tears filled my eyes, "Mum, Dad!"

I ran towards them, forgetting about the darkness, wanting to feel their embrace which I painfully missed. They embraced me, and I felt their warmth, I could tell that they were smiling and I smiled, closing my eyes as they held me close to them. When they let go of me, I opened my eyes and to my astonishment, we were at our house; the beautiful, large, neatly decorated house.

"Alex…"

I looked up at my mum, who was smiling at me, "Yes mum?"

"What are you doing here?"

My mouth opened surprised, "What?"

She shook her head and chuckled, "You ran away, remember?"

I backed away confused, "What? What do you mean?"

"You ran away from this home, remember? You left the people that would have taken care of you"

I became even more confused, "What people?"

This time, my father answered, "The people we agreed to take care of you when we died"

I began to get tense, "W-What? But you're not dead…"

My mum laughed, as if I was joking, "Why, of course we are!"

My eyes widened, "What… But you're… Here?"

My mum lost her humour, and grew serious, as my father, "No we aren't… You just have a wild imagination Alex"

"W…What?"

The area around me began to tear away, my mum and dad fizzled out of existence, and the walls fell down along with the stairs. I twisted my head in every direction, my heart beating faster as the furniture dissolved into the floor. When the house had completely disappeared, I turned my head at a mans voice.

It was a policeman, and he looked at me sorrowfully, "I'm sorry Alex"

Not pondering as to how he knew my name I asked, "What? Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for your loss…"

I looked at him bewildered, and he turned his body so I could see what was behind him. I saw fire creaking out of a cars window; the car had turned over, and had been destroyed in most parts – there was a firemen crew putting out any flames they could find, along with an ambulance next to the car with two trolleys carrying two people.

Instantly recognizing the people, I ran towards them, my brain searching for any other answer I could find besides what I already knew. I was stopped by a policeman who was close to the scene, "You can't get near"

I pushed his arms away, "I need to see them!"

He grabbed my arm and I pushed his body away from me, "Ma'am, you need t-"

"No! Let me through!" Tears dripped down my cheeks, and when he finally released me I ran to the people being attended by medics.

When I got near the trolleys, my fears were realized, on each trolley lay both my parents, scorched from the fire, eyes looking lazily into the night sky.

"N-No… This isn't real…" I could see the blood coming out on different parts of their bodies, my body was shaking, "No…"

_Alex's Room…7:36am…_

My eyes snapped open and I sat up swiftly, letting out a small yell. I breathed heavily and looked around the room, my eyes looking for the bloodied mess that were my parents. Realizing that I was back in the castle, I sighed and placed my hands on my head and tried to calm down. That was the first time I have had a dream… Nightmare about my parents. Their smiling faces and dead carcasses flowed in and out of my mind; I shakily breathed in and out as I slowly calmed down.

When I returned to normal, I lay back on my pillow; my eyes still shut, and wrapped my arms around myself for comfort. I spent a few minutes just lying in my bed, before I heard someone call me,

"Alex?"

I turned my head towards the door and saw Eric smiling at me, "Are you awake?"

I smiled back at him and sat up, "Yeah…What is it?"

"Lady Ilene wishes to see you"

I nodded, "Okay, tell her I will be there in a while"

He nodded and left, I lazily let my legs drape over the bed. Sighing, I left to have my routine shower, before I got dressed and began to make my way to the main hall. Lucario wasn't in his room, but I found him training, as usual, outside. My body stiffened when I saw him, I was still nervous about what had happened. I edgily walked next to the wall, avoiding any eye-contact that might happen. Before I opened the door that led into the castle's halls, I looked over my shoulder, not knowing what to expect. Nothing happened, Lucario ignored me as usual, and I sighed before walking into the castle.

I went to the main hall to find Lady Ilene smiling at me, "Hello Alex"

I smiled slightly, "Hi Lady Ilene"

"Did you have a good night sleep?"

I thought back to my nightmares, my eyes squinted at the images of my deceased parents, "Yeah, it was fine."

She noticed something odd in my voice, "Alex… Are you okay?"

I looked at her, "Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about some things…" I immediately changed the subject, not wanting to tell her about my dreams…nightmares, "Eric told me you wanted to see me?"

She nodded, "Yes, I wanted to talk to you about the festival"

I moved closer to her and she stood up, "At three today, the Pokemon battle will commence, and then at eight-thirty, the dance will start, would you like to join the dance?"

My cheeks grew red in embarrassment; when it came to dancing I became the freak show of the night, "N-No… I don't dance"

She nodded, "That's fine, do you have any plans until the Pokemon battle?"

I shifted my eyes, "Well… Not really. I was planning on walking about to see if anyone needed any help after you finished with me."

She smiled warmly, "Well, would you like to see the staff?"

I looked at her confused, "Staff?"

"Don't you remember the staff you wanted to see? The one that Lucario came out of"

I smiled, slowly forgetting about my horrible morning "Yes, I remember. But I thought I couldn't see it until the battle"

She shook her head, "I said that the others were preparing it, it is ready now"

Eagerly, I said, "Yeah, I would like to see it"

She nodded, "Follow me"

I followed her into a door underneath Sir. Aaron's portrait. The room she took me in was a small storage compartment, boxes lay everywhere and there was old furniture scattered around the room, covered by white rags. She led me to a glass case that sat in the middle of the room,

"Here it is"

I looked at the staff inside the box; it was made out of wood, with a blue, spherical crystal attached to the top, along with metal rings surrounding it. There were also two metal beads hanging from either side of the ring, they reminded me of the sacks hanging behind Lucario's head.

I smiled at its appearance, "It looks nice"

She nodded, "Yes, it's been used for many years"

"Won't it get dirty – being in a room like this?"

"No, the glass case prevents that"

There was silence, before Lady Ilene asked, "How are you and Lucario?"

I grew nervous at her question, "Well…"

She waited for my answer patiently as I thought it over in my head,

"It feels awkward; being around him after what I did"

She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at her, "Don't worry, things will get better"

I shook my head and looked away, "No it won't, he will still hate me like always"

She lifted my head so that my eyes would meet her gaze, "Alex, things will get better eventually. Lucario is still upset about what happened to him, you have to give it time"

I reminisced about my parents, the dream I had, "Yeah… I guess" I sighed, "I just want to make up for what I did"

"Don't worry, you will, somehow"

I smiled at her, "Thank-you Lady Ilene"

She nodded and we left the room where she sat down on her throne, "Are you going to watch the Pokemon Battle?"

I nodded, "Yes, I think I'd enjoy it. At three?"

"Yes. Do you have anything to do until then?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I would like to do some things"

"Very Well"

I walked out the hall, and headed to the room with the Piano. I continued on what I was playing at night, wanting to finish what I started. The sound that came out cheered me up a bit, and the song came fluidly, each note being pre-known, so that no pauses were made to interrupt the melody. When I was halfway through the composition an idea sparked into my mind.

I got up and ran back to where Lucario was, but he wasn't training by the pond any longer. Sighing, I began to make my way back to the hall when I noticed something. I found Lucario meditating by the door leading to our room and I smiled as I walked toward him.

My voice became shaky, "L-Lucario?"

He opened on eye at me, "What do you want now?"

The atmosphere was still tense, my fingers were fidgeting by my sides, "Could I… Show you some…thing?" The last word came out quiet

He closed his eyes, "No, I'm meditating, leave me be"

I rubbed the back of my head with my hand, "Please?"

"I said no"

"But… I think you'd like it"

He sighed angrily, "I told you I am meditating. Leave me alone"

I kept asking, the tension building on me, "Please, I know you'd like it. It won't be long; you can continue meditating after…"

He growled deeply and I stood my position, "Please?"

He sighed annoyed, "Fine. But it better be quick."

I smiled, "Thank-you Lucario"

"Humph."

He stood up and glared at me whilst I stood still. I jumped when he growled at me and walked back into the castle, Lucario following me from behind. I lead him to the piano and sat down and he stood by the piano, still hatefully glaring at me.

"It's a short song" I hoped that by saying 'short', he would get less angry.

"It better be" He kept the same tone.

The atmosphere hadn't helped me as I breathed slowly, trying to loose some nerves and hoping that my hands would stop shaking so fast.

"Well?" I jumped at Lucario's growling voice,

"Oh… Sorry" I shakily laid my hands on the piano, took in a deep breath, and pressed the first note.

The atmosphere had suddenly changed; much of the tension was still there, but the slow, calm melody was biting through it, taking away bit by bit. Lucario tilted his head and listened intently as the sound progressed throughout the room. I made a few mistakes, due to Lucario's red, gleaming eyes watching over me, but that didn't distract the melody playing. I had noticed that my breathing had become deep, my lungs trying to support my shaking hands by distracting me with long, deep breaths – but it did no good. As I continued through the melody my hands grew shakier each part, my heart pounding faster, and even a sense of excitement growing in me. All of this was due to Lucario. His eyes watching every move my hands made, his blue ears twitching every time I grew louder and softer.

I got halfway through the song, finishing the part I knew how to play. My eyes widened and my breathing rate increased; suffice to say that my hands were shaking madly out of control - what was even worse was that Lucario kept staring at me, as if analysing the melody. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, before I began to improvise on the piano. I made the sound completely different from the rest of the melody – I had an idea of what to play whilst searching for Lucario. I knew I was going to improvise, but I hadn't thought about him standing there, staring at me. The melody went smoothly, some hiccups in between where I lost the tune, but I always stabilized it. I progressed wiih chords and began scaling the piano from the bottom; quickly ascending each chord, until it came to an end where I made sure the sound was loud and sounded completed.

I let the piano ring underneath my fingers and took in deep breaths as I thought of the Pokemon standing beside me. When the sound had completely diminished, I turned slowly to Lucario, my head twisting as slow as possible, trying to prolong the silence. Lucario was still staring at me, his face showing no emotion.

I stuttered the first words, "D-Do you… like… it?"

Lucario stood silent for a moment, before replying; "...It's fine." He turned quickly and walked casually to the door

I persisted, "Is that it?"

He turned, "Yes, anything else you want to know human?"

I looked down, "Erm… No"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Good. I'm returning to my meditation which _you_ interrupted, now leave me be"

"Okay."

He left me sitting down on the piano, and I stared at my feet, disappointed about his response. The tension was building back in the atmosphere, and my hopes to please Lucario were thrown out. I sighed and made my way to eat lunch.

_Later that day… At 2:53pm…_

I was sitting quietly in my bed, still pondering over Lucario's response to my half-composed song; I thought he would say something more than 'fine'. I spent the day sat in my room thinking about it – Was it too inadequate for him? Was he still too mad to tell me what he really thought? I shook my head, trying to find the best possible answer. I detest when people, or Pokemon for that matter, describe songs I've made with a simple 'fine' or 'good' or 'okay'; it made me feel like the song lacked power, or empathy.

"Alex?"

I turned my head towards the door and found Eric staring back at me cheerfully, "The battle is gonna start soon, most people have arrived. Are you going to watch?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, I was on my now"

"Really? It didn't seem as if you knew"

I stifled a laugh, "I was just thinking about something" I quickly changed the subject, not wanting to discuss my thoughts, "It's at the place which we set-up isn't it?"

He nodded, "Yep, that's the place." He waved, "I'll see you later Alex"

I nodded him away and soon after, left my room to watch the Pokemon battle, pushing my thoughts away so I wouldn't be distracted. On my way to the battle I saw an array of different people dressed in olden time clothing. My cheeks glowed red as I passed through the herd of baroque-style people in my top and jeans; not many of them took interest in me, the closet thing was an odd look from a small group of people due to my attire.

I passed the main hall and found Lady Ilene walking out of the archway. She smiled at me, "Hello Alex. Are you on your way to the battle?"

I nodded silently, my cheeks still a crimson red and she noticed my embarrassment, "Something wrong Alex?"

"Everyone is dressed so olden-like, and I'm walking through with jeans and a top…"

She chuckled, "You can get a ball-gown if you wish, they are in one of the rooms on the first floor"

I shook my head, "N-No it's alright, I don't like dresses that much."

She smiled warmly, "Very well. I'll see you after the Pokemon Battle then"

I nodded and asked, "Will Lucario be watching too?"

Lady Ilene sadly shook her head, "No. He said that he would be somewhere where people wouldn't be able to see him."

I nodded, "Okay" and with that I walked toward the arena.

The battle grounds had been cleaned again, and the white lines that crossed the beige, dusty floor stood out clearly and neatly. Groups of different people were gathered around the top of the arena, most eager to see the battle commence. I walked over to a comfortable position and peered down at the ground, a glint of excitement withering in me, the thought of Lucario's response to my song disappearing slowly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Lady Ilene's voice boomed over the chattering of the eager Pokemon fighting fans, and all was quiet.

I looked up to see Lady Ilene standing with her hands spread out on a small ledge, "Thank-you for joining us on this year's festival. I'd rather not keep all of you waiting so we will immediately commence with the battle."

The battle began. A Pokemon trainer leaped from the doorway onto the battleground, accompanied by an excited Pikachu. Coming from the opposite end was another man who released a Breloom. The first match was short; the Pikachu leaped into the air and electrocuted the Breloom, which he then defeated after head butting the Breloom. The crowd cheered approvingly and I joined in the cheer – careful not to scream too loud.

The second battle revealed a person wearing full-body armour, who released a Weavile, and the opponent releasing a Tropius. The Tropius lifted into the air and unleashed a raging hyper beam onto the Weavile, but the Weavile swiftly leapt into the air, avoiding the hyper beam, and threw a shadow ball at the Tropius, defeating it in an instant. The crowd stared in awe at the defeated Tropius as the Weavile bounced off the wall and landed softly on the ground.

The fights continued, each battle more intense than it's predecessor; the boy with the Pikachu swiftly moving through each rank along with the person in armour. After a Rapidash unconsciously fell to the ground, Lady Ilene lifted her hands and quietened the cheering crowd.

"Before we proceed to the final battle, we will take a short five minute break"

Everyone turned to their friends or family and began discussing the fights that had passed, I felt left out as people around me frequently talked about the Pikachu and Weavile. I began to walk around, smiling at any eyes that peered on me. As I looked to the Arena I was pulled back by a hand. I turned around quickly, startled at the sudden occurrence, and found a young man with brown hair and odd, lined eyes kneeling before me.

"You're radiance has overcome my sense to stay in control" He was speaking fast, in a high pitch voice, "Will you be miiiiine?" He smiled hopefully at me, his hand still enclosed around mine.

I stared at the man with my jaw open – mostly due to the fact of the many people watching this odd man speaking to me in a proposal-like stance. "I-I"

"Ah!" The curious stranger was pulled back by the ear by a young boy dressed up like an old doll,

"Brock… What have I told you about proposing to people?"

"I was only saying hel-"

The boy stood his authority, "Brock!"

The man named Brock backed down, "I'm sorry…"

The boy smiled up at me, my face was still confused, "Sorry about him, we need to find a cage…"

I was short of breath, "Erm… Who are you?"

The boy blinked up at me, "Oh, sorry, I'm Max" He looked annoyingly at Brock, "This is Brock… Who are you?"

"I'm Alex"

He chuckled, "Nice to meet you"

I nodded back at him and quickly began to think of an excuse to get away from the odd pair; Lady Ilene saved me, "We will now continue to our final match"

The boy peered over to where Lady Ilene was, and then to me, "Oh well, see you later Alex" He walked away.

I stood for a few seconds at blank space, completely dumb-founded as to what had just happened, the cheering of the crowd brought be back to reality, and I looked down to the ground to find the boy with his Pikachu standing on the opposite side from the person wearing the armour with his/her Weavile in a fighting stance.

The man waved a flag and the final battle took place. The Weavile and Pikachu immediately leaped into the air and bounced back from each others attack. Landing, both of the Pokemon exchanged slashes at each other, missing each time. The Weavile dashed away from the oncoming Pikachu and prepared a shadow ball, but the Pikachu leapt high into the air and electrocuted the Weavile; the yellow sparks flying around the stadium causing the people watching, including myself, to duck.

When I managed to uncover my eyes I peered over to find the Weavile unconscious on the ground with a victorious Pikachu on the boy's shoulder smiling happily. The crowd cheered frantically at the battle as Lady Ilene stood up and opened her arms to the crowd, "We now have a winner; Ash, from Pallet Town is the victor", the crowd accompanied Lady Ilene's speech by praising the boy's name over and over again.

"Hi again Alex"

I looked to my side and found Max looking up at me, "Did you enjoy the match?"

I smiled, "Yes, it was great to watch, that Ash kid deserves to win"

He chuckled, "Yeah he does, he's one of my friends; and a great Pokemon fighter"

I was surprised, "Really? Well tell him that he did well"

He nodded, "Will do"

I looked over the banister to see Ash talking to the person in armour; his Pikachu was dancing with an Ambipom which had appeared from out of the blue. The person in armour took off the helmet and was revealed to be a woman with long, brown hair.

"Uh-oh..."

I blinked surprised at what Max said, but when I turned to him he wasn't there, instead he was in the battlefield pulling an eager Brock away from the woman and I stood, staring confused, wondering as to how he got there so quickly.

When everyone had left I headed through a doorway and found Lady Ilene, "Hi Lady Ilene"

She turned to me and gestured for me to follow. Walking by her side she smiled at me, "Well. Did you like it?"

"Yes, it was real fun, I can't believe that last battle between Ash and that woman was so... Dangerous"

She chuckled, "Yes, I thought that the last match would be good, considering the opponents"

I thought about Lucario and turned to Lady Ilene, "Do you think Lucario was watching somewhere?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think he would want to. He will probably be training for the remainder of the day"

I sighed, "He does that a lot." I decided to change the subject, not wanting to discuss Lucario any further, "When's the Dance?"

"At eight-thirty. Have you decided to get dressed for the dance?"

I shook my head, "No, not really, I just wanted to know, to know"

She smiled, "You'd enjoy getting dressed as everyone else for it"

I rubbed the back of my neck warily, "Erm..."

Noticing my nervousness, Lady Ilene said, "But you don't have to, you would be fine dressed as you are"

I smiled back at her, "Thank-you, but you might be right about getting dressed" I thought back to when I walked through the array of different people, embarrassed "I might blend in more"

"The clothing is on the first floor of the castle, the last bedroom down the hallway"

I nodded, "Thank's" I walked away from her and headed to a staircase. I walked across the hallways, trying to find people who would lead me to the room, but no luck. I turned at each corner and eventually found the door Lady Ilene was talking about. I walked inside and found different clothes hanging around the room.

I chose something simple, not too elegant, not too unfashionable. When I looked at my appearance in the mirror I smiled at the long red dress I was wearing, but my smile faded at my untidy hair hanging loosely over my shoulder, so I went back to my room.

_Later that day... 8.15pm..._

I was smiling at my appearance again, but in my room. The red dress fitted me perfectly, my hair curled downwards along my shoulder and the lipstick I wore fitted along with the dress; my dislike for dresses temporarily gone. I walked out of my room and left out into the pond, but stopped at the blue figure sat down by the water.

"Lucario?"

He turned his head slowly towards me, "What?"

"Where have you been all day?"

He sternly replied, "That's none of your concern human"

Noticing the anger I was implicating, I quickly changed subject, "Do you like my dress?" the words came out automatically, and my cheeks began to grow red as I thought about what I had just said.

"No."

I looked at him oddly, "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing"

Confused I asked, "Then... Why no?"

"Stop asking me questions. Go."

I stood there, staring at him, wanting an answer, but gave up when he stopped answering me. I walked to the throne room and continuously looked down at my dress, still pondering as to why he said 'no'.

When I got into the hall I was distracted by the amount of people. There were many people already dancing to classical music, and there were people chatting with each other around the room.

"Alex!" I turned and found Max waving at me from the food table.

I walked to him, "Hi Max" My muscles began to get tense, "Where's that Brock guy?"

He chuckled, "He's over there" he pointed at where Brock was dancing nervously with the woman from the battle and my nerves relaxed, "You look nice in that"

I looked back at Max, and then down at my dress, "Really? There's nothing out of place?"

He shook his head, "No. Why?"

I stopped looking for errors in my dress, Lucario's simple 'no' still buzzing in my mind, "Oh, nothing, thanks"

"No problem" he picked up one of the desserts off the table, "Aren't you going to dance?"

"No, I don't like to dance"

"Why not"

His question surprised me, "Erm... Because I just... Don't"

"Oh well" he began eating his dessert, "Where do you come from?"

I looked away from him, "Er, I live in the castle for now"

His eyes widened, "Really?"

I nodded

"Wow! Do you have to do anything to stay?"

"No, I sometimes help when Lady Ilene wants me to, but other than that, not really"

He was getting more enthusiastic, "That's really cool!"

My cheeks went red, "Erm, thanks"

The dance continued on; Brock was sweating from dancing with the Woman, there was a blue-haired man trying to get away from a young brown-haired girl, and I noticed Ash was sitting annoyed on a chair next to the throne.

"Why is Ash sitting there by himself?"

"He can't dance since he won the competition, he has to sit there all night"

"That doesn't seem very fair"

"Well... Things happen" He chuckled.

Five minutes before midnight, Lady Ilene stood up and everyone stood quiet, "And now the winner of the Pokemon Battle will start the fireworks"

Max quickly turned to the windows behind us and looked excitingly into the sky, "Cool! Fireworks!"

I looked at Ash as he stood up and puzzlingly lifted the staff over his head. Fireworks lit in the sky, arraying from blue to yellow, the sky looked beautiful as the explosions let out many different colours that swirled around the sky.

Max's eyes were wide in amazement, "Wow, it looks great!"

I nodded, "Yeah, it's nice"

When the fireworks had finished, Lady Ilene addressed the people, "And that concludes this years festival. It has been an enjoyable experience and the Pokemon Battle has been the best we've had so far. Those people who are staying tonight in the castle please feel free to go anywhere you wish, and for those leaving, thank-you for joining us tonight"

Everyone cheered at her and gradually began to move out of the room, the amount of people decreasing each minute. While I watched the people leave the hall, Lady Ilene walked to me, "You look nice in that dress Alex"

I smiled, "Thank-you Lady Ilene. Lucario said he didn't like it" I looked away

"Do you know why?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, he said there was nothing wrong. Just 'no'"

She smiled, "I'm sure he liked it, you look beautiful"

I blushed, "Thank-you"

"What are you planning on doing now?"

"I don't know, I think I may just go to sleep"

"Okay"

She walked away from me and I walked out of the room. I met Max again in the hallway, and he was with Ash and Brock, "Hi Alex" He pointed to Ash, "This is Ash" and then he looked tiredly at Brock, "And _it_, as you know, is Brock"

I extended my hand, "Hi, pleased to meet you, I'm Alex"

Ash shook my hand, "Hi, did you watch the Pokemon battle?"

I nodded, "Yeah, you were great in the battle"

"Heh, Thanks"

"And I'm sure you didn't forget little old me?" The person whose high pitched voice I knew very well was holding my hand

I sighed "Yes Brock, I remember" I thought of a way to get rid of him, "Where's that woman you were dancing with?"

"She's somewhere in the castle"

I got an idea, "Oh, well, she's must be lonely - all by herself"

He immediately stood up, "You're right!" and with that he turned and sprinted off, looking for her.

"Well done on that Alex"

I turned to Max, "Thanks"

Ash hit his head with his hand, "Brock gets out of hand quite a lot"

I chuckled, "Don't worry, I don't care"

"Anyway, I need to tell you something Max"

Max looked at Ash, "What is it?"

"While I was walking from the battlefield, I noticed a blue blur jumping from one of the rooftops" I immediately thought of Lucario, "And it moved pretty fast so I couldn't make out what it was, do you know any Pokemon like that"

Max looked confused, "A blue blur isn't very helpful Ash"

"Well... It looked medium in height and I think it had black sacks hanging from it's head"

Max shook his head, "Well, maybe it was a Swellow?"

Ash shook his head, "Max, I said black sacks, not blue wings"

Max thought for a moment before replying, "Luxio?"

Ash again shook his head, "No, I'm sure that it was small sacks, not a tail"

"It could have been a Ganger you saw, maybe you mis-saw the sacks for something else"

"Maybe, but it was blue as well, that, I am sure of"

Whilst the two trainers discussed the array of different Pokemon there are in the world, I thought about Lucario and why he was there, and if he was watching the Pokemon battle.

"Are you sure you didn't see anything else Ash?"

"Positive. Now think. It has to be a Pokemon"

I turned to Ash, "Yeah" I thought about whether or not to tell them, but decided against it, "I'm sorry, but I've got to go"

Ash nodded, "Okay, I'll see you around some time"

I nodded and then Max looked up at me, "See ya Alex"

"Bye" I left them to go in search of Lucario.

He was still sat down by the pond, gazing into his reflection, "Lucario"

"Why do you persist on interrupting me?"

I looked away, "S-Sorry, but I need to ask something"

"I won't discuss your dress"

"No it's no-"

I was interrupted by Lucario, "OR about yesterday"

I looked down at the ground, memories of Lucario's ferocious stance at me flooding into my mind, "No, nothing about that" My words came out as a quiet whisper.

'Then what?"

"I was going to ask if you watched the Pokemon battle"

"No."

I continued, "The winner of the battle saw you jumping from one of the rooftops"

Lucario looked down at the pond, "I was training my agility"

"Really?"

"Yes, is that all human?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but I do have something else to ask when I think about it"

He was growling quietly, "What."

"Why do you continue on calling me 'human'? I told you my name, Alex" I was nervous as I awaited his answer.

I could hear the annoyance in his tone, "I have already told you about how I hate your kind, now go"

The memories moved around my head, "Okay" I sadly walked back into my room.

Sitting on my bed, I rested my head on my hands, "What will it take for him to like me? Or at least to forgive me for yesterday?"

I reminisced about the previous day, thinking about Lucario's angry posture as he flung the Aura Sphere at me, and the growling voice saying, 'Answer me...' over and over again. I sighed into my hands and brushed my hair back.

"Alex, are you alright?"

I looked up and saw Eric standing by the door again, "Oh hi Eric; Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about things"

He looked worryingly, "Are you sure your fine?"

I sighed, "Yeah, don't worry, I'll be fine. What is it?"

"Lady Ilene wants to speak with you in the balcony"

I looked confused at him, "The balcony?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'll take you there"

I got up and followed him, avoiding looking at the meditating Lucario. We walked through the hallways, and Eric turned his head to me, "Are you sure your fine?"

I nodded, "Yeah, just some... bad memories"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I cringed at what he said, trying to stop him from noticing that what he was saying helped to remind me of what I was trying to forget, "No thanks, I told you, I'm fine"

He nodded, "Okay then..."

He gestured me to the balcony and I went out to find Lady Ilene staring at a large, glistening tree in the distance, with a part in the centre glowing a small, bright blue colour.

"Lady Ilene?"

She turned to me, "Hello Alex, sorry for disturbing you so late"

"It's okay, I wasn't sleeping"

"Good. May I ask you something?"

I nodded, "Sure, what is it?"

She looked back at the tree, "What do you make of that?"

I looked at the tree, "It looks like a large tree"

She smiled, "Yes, but it's a large rock"

I blinked, "What?"

"It's a large rock, in the shape of the tree. It's called the tree of beginning, there are a lot of stories about it, but that's not what I brought you here for"

I looked questioningly at her, "Then... What is it?"

She pointed at the middle of the tree, "What do think that might be?"

I squinted at the glowing blue light, "I don't know, what is it?"

She sighed, "I don't know, it may be a small light, but I fear for the tree's safety"

"Why?"

"That's never been there before, so I don't know why it is there now"

I walked to the edge of the balcony, "Have you asked anyone else?"

She shook her head, "No, most people are sleeping, and the servants haven't got any idea"

"**It's Aura**"

We both turned to find Lucario standing by the doorway.

Lady Ilene looked inquisitively at him, "An Aura is that strong?"

He shook his head, I noticed that he was more calm and less rude around Lady Ilene, "I can't see that far using my Aura, but I know it is an Aura, I sense it. Although, it feels like there is a large group of Aura concentrating into one place"

"Do you think it could be dangerous?"

"I'm not sure. It could be"

"Hmm... I think you should investigate it; seeing as you know most about Aura"

He nodded his head and placed a hand on his chest, "If that is your wish, it will be my honour"

I looked at both Lady Ilene and Lucario, "I'll go too" My words came out softly.

"What?" Lucario said,

"I said I'll go too, I'd like to get out of this castle and go somewhere" My lie came out well, they didn't notice that I had another reason for going.

Lady Ilene nodded, "If that is what you wish."

Lucario protested against it, "She won't be any good to me, and she won't keep up with my speed, I don't think she should"

Lady Ilene became firm, "You could slow down to her pace, and I don't agree with you; she could be a great asset to you Lucario"

Lucario looked away annoyed and then knelt down, "I am sorry for my rudeness Lady Ilene, I will do as you wish"

I stood surprised by the authority Lady Ilene had shown over Lucario. She turned to me, "You can both leave tomorrow morning, have a good night sleep"

"Thank-you Lady Ilene" I began to walk off back into the room, but Lady Ilene stopped me.

"Alex"

I turned around and saw her looking at me confusingly, "What's wrong Lady Ilene?"

"Why do you want to leave with Lucario?"

I looked away, beginning to get nervous, "I...I don't know. I was thinking about some things."

"Thing's such as what?"

I looked at her face, "Like... Maybe I _could _help him in some way..."

Her face was still firm, "But it could be dangerous, as he said. And truthfully, he is more able to complete the task more than you. I'm sorry if that sounded harsh"

"N-No, I understand. But I just wanted to try it... See if I could do something for him"

She smiled, "Well... If that is what you wish, I won't object"

I nodded at her and left the room.

I was walking along the hallways, thinking about what Lady Ilene had told me. The thought that I could help Lucario in some way sounded completely stupid when I repeated it over and over to myself.

I was interrupted by Eric, who had just walked out of the throne room, "Hi Alex"

I smiled, "Hi Eric, have you been cleaning?"

He nodded slowly, "Yeah, Lady Ilene wanted us to clean the throne room. Decorations aren't so easy to bring down as you might think"

I chuckled, "Oh well, I'm sure you'll get it done. Want any help?"

He shook his head, "No thanks, it's already done. How was the discussion with Lady Ilene?"

"Erm, it was fine." I was quiet for a couple of seconds, "I'm leaving tomorrow"

He was surprised, "Really? Why's that?"

"I'm not sure if Lady Ilene wants you to know, but I'll be leaving to the Tree of Beginning with Lucario to look at something"

His face was still the same, "Look at what?"

I rubbed my hands against my legs, "Sorry... I'm not sure if she wants you to know"

"Okay. But why are you going? Did Lady Ilene ask you?"

"N-No. I offered"

His face grew even more surprised, "Really? Why would you offer to go with Lucario?"

My cheeks were slowly glowing red, "I don't know, I thought I could help him maybe..."

His tone grew slightly sarcastic, "Even if it means being mutilated by him"

I looked at Eric, "Oh... Erm... I don't know"

He noticed what he had said and apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you more. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing, I don't understand why you want to do so much for Lucario"

I sighed, "I don't really know either. I just don't like him hating me. I feel sad and resented whenever he talks to me."

"Okay... Be careful Alex"

I smiled, "Thank's Eric"

I left him and headed back to my room.

_In Alex's room..._

I lay in my bed, Lucario hadn't been in his room, or outside. I kept thinking about what both Eric and Lady Ilene had said. A side bag full of clothing, toiletries, and food was laying beside me. I closed my eyes and thought about my decision, was it a good idea to go with the Pokemon that hated me? And I kept thinking about what the trip would be like with him, scared of what would happen. But besides the bad aspects of the journey, I also considered the good ones too. Maybe I will help him in some way. But unfortunately, whenever I thought abut something good, the thought was always accompanied by, 'Even if it means being mutilated by him', or, 'Truthfully, he is more able to complete the task more than you'.

I took in a deep breath, and closed my eyes, trying to forget about my decision, wanting to sleep, but the thoughts about what was to come kept flooding through my mind...

* * *

_Thank-you for reading!_

_Alex: Great... I'm a dead girl..._

_Me: ...I never said he would kill you._

_Lucario: *sniff*_

_Me: What?_

_Lucario: ... Nothing._

_Me: ... Whatever..._

R & R :P


	6. The Journey Begins

_Here is chapter 6! After... A very long time. Sorry for the very late updating._

_I will continue this story and try to update it a little earlier..._

_Hope you enjoy this chapter! :D_

_

* * *

_

- Chapter 6 -

**The Journey Begins...**

_9.57am..._

Lady Ilene, myself, and Lucario were gathered in the throne room – I wore the clothes I had worn at my first arrival at the castle, along with a side bag hanging at my side. I was standing in front of Lady Ilene, who was seated on her throne. Lucario was standing by me, he avoided any eye contact with me and had been ignoring me since I had woken up, I wasn't surprised. Lady Ilene smiled at us, "Be careful, whatever may be in the tree could be dangerous to you both, especially you Alex"

I nodded and Lucario grunted, "More the reason why she shouldn't come with me"

I looked briefly at Lucario, annoyed at his complaints at me.

"Lucario, Alex will be fine as long as she's cautious" I smiled at Lady Ilene, she had been defending my going against Lucario since he began complaining.

Lucario persisted, "She's too weak to defend herself. And I won't be saving her every time she is in danger."

I looked away from Lucario, my nerves building up.

"She will be _fine_ Lucario" Lady Ilene's voice grew slightly more louder

Lucario grunted and looked away.

"Alex, are you ready to leave?"

I looked back at Lady Ilene, "Yes Lady Ilene"

"Good, have a safe journey"

"Thank-you Lady Ilene"

Lucario looked at Lady Ilene, "I can get there and back faster than her, she will just slow me down, I really don't see any reason for her t-"

"Lucario, there will be no more arguments about this, understood?"

"But"

"That is final Lucario"

I could see Lucario's arms shaking slightly. He grunted and slowly kneeled down to Lady Ilene, "Yes Lady Ilene"

She smiled, "Good" Lucario glared at me from his position, my breath cut short as his red eyes bit into me.

Worried at his glare I said, "I'll try not to get in your way"

He stood up and began to walk away, "You _won't_" his voice was low and angry. Shaking my head, I walked toward the window and kept my eyes fixed on the trees swaying slowly in the sunshine.

Lady Ilene walked towards me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, "Don't let him trouble you, you will be fine"

I courteously smiled at her attempt to help me, "Thank-you, but I think this might have been a bad idea... He's right in what he said; he won't need my help"

"Alex, you never know what might happen, there's always a chance"

I looked at Lady Ilene's smiling face, "Maybe."

"Lucario will be leaving soon, you should go with him now."

I nodded and walked toward where Lucario had left, but I was stopped by Lady Ilene, "Be careful Alex"

I gestured at her, "I will, goodbye"

"Farewell"

I walked out of the doorway and found Lucario scowling at me from the beginning of the white bridge, "Are you done?"

I nodded my head silently, "Follow me"

I headed to Lucario and we began are walk across the bridge. "**Wait! Alex!**"

Looking around, I found Eric rushing towards me, "Oh, hi Eric" From the corner of my eye I noticed Lucario irritatingly glaring at us.

He stopped in front of me and handed a few sandwiches wrapped in foil, "Here, Lady Ilene told me to bring some from the kitchen for you"

I took them and placed them in my side-bag, my cheeks reddening at my ignorance to food, "Oh, thanks"

"I guess I'll see you when you come back"

I nodded, "Yeah, see you then" I could hear Lucario grunting in the background

"Bye Alex."

I waved back at him whilst walking toward Lucario, and he soon left.

"Are you done."

I bit my lip as I turned my head to see Lucario staring at me, "Y-Yeah."

He turned and began to make his way across the bridge, as I followed behind slowly.

I looked at Lucario, he was focused on the path in front of him, trying to ignore me as best as he could, "Lucario"

"What."

"How will we get there?"

"We are going to go through the forest."

"Okay" Lucario seemed to be trying to make his answers as short as possible.

Across from the bridge, we cut left into the forest, heading in the direction of the tree. I took a quick glance at the Castle: the sun beamed through thick-white clouds, illuminating the red rooftops and brick walls. Trees surrounding the Castle swayed gently in the winds and the water glistened brightly – it is always a beautiful sight.

Lucario searched ahead with his Aura, the 'bags' on his head elevating and his body engulfing itself with a blue, flame-like substance. I thought back to the first night we'd met, the anger that he had for me as he chased me through the forest, intent on harming me. Those thoughts lead to my stay at the castle; unintentionally agitating Lucario to the point that he attacked me – his violent posture still swirling around my mind.

I continuously thought about my choice to accompany him: I just wanted to help him, make up for what I did somehow, but I knew that, that hope was farfetched, and I would probably turn out to be more of a nuisance than anything.

Whilst thinking, I bumped into Lucario, who was staring forward.

A shot from his glare and I moved back, he turned his head back forward and growled softly.

"What is it?"

He walked slowly forward, ignoring my question – I looked at him annoyingly, but I was then surprised by his Aura now glowing from his paws. "Is something wrong?"

Again, he ignored me, so I walked next to him, quietly and peered forward. Out in a clearing, I saw two, what appeared to be men, standing across from each other, arguing about something. They both looked alike; they had green hair, and odd looking suits.

"What d'you mean we lost it!"

The other person shrugged looked through the bushes behind him, "It was right there" he pointed to a spot just behind a bush, "Then it disappeared!"

The 'twin' grunted in anger, "How could it have disappeared! You're explaining this when we get back!" He turned and walked off in the opposite direction, the other person following closely behind.

Lucario was slowly edging forward and I walked to his side, "Are you going to go after them?"

He ignored my question and began walking across the clearing, keeping an eye out for the two odd-looking people as I mentally sighed and walked behind him. "Who do you think they were? I never saw anyone at the festival dressed like that."

Again he didn't answer, and lowered his head as he searched around with his aura. After a few seconds he looked up. "They are heading away from here"

I was by his side, "Well, I guess they must have been travellers or something."

Lucario grunted and continued walking towards the Tree.

Continuously following behind as he walked, I looked up at the Tree which could be clearly seen, and was still quite far ahead of us; it had a glittering-effect due to the sun, "How long do you think we'd take to get there?"

"A long while."

My ears perked up at his response, mostly due to the fact that he had responded, "Well, I'm sure we'd get there soon right?"

"I'd get there soon if it weren't for you"

My head dropped as he cut me off. (I can't get a simple conversation out of him.)

As we continued walking, some bushes rustled slightly next to me, and I stopped to look if there was something there, but nothing happened, so I continued walking beside Lucario, "Did you hear something?"

"..." He kept silent, focusing on what was ahead of him.

"Lucario?"

He closed his eyes as we walked, "What."

"Didn't you hear that?"

"It was nothing."

"But something must have caused the bushes to rustle"

He ignored me and looked up at the sky through the trees - I followed his gaze and noticed a bird-type pokemon flying across the clear blue sky, where it twisted and dove down into the trees.

Deciding to ignore the bushes, I smiled warmly as the sun hit my face, "It's a nice day, isn't it?"

"It is"

"You must love living here" I looked eagerly at Lucario, hoping he wouldn't cut me off.

"It is a very relaxing place"

Surprised by his reply, I continued, "Yeah, I couldn't imagine a better place"

Although Lucario hadn't continued the conversation, I felt a wave of relief at the small conversation we had, it didn't mean anything, but I was happy that he hadn't snipped back at me.

We had been walking a while through the forest, and during the time we walked I thought back at my stay at the castle, Lucario had been silent the entire time: I thought back at how frightened I was when he chased me through the dark trees, and how he helped me find a new home, despite his hatred toward me. I also thought back to the renewed anger he had as he shouted at me as I wouldn't leave him alone, and that frightful glare he gave me, his violent posture as he flung an Aura Sphere at my side, knocking me over into the grass. These thoughts reminded me of the guilt I felt for agitating him so much.

I looked at Lucario, then back down to the ground, "Lucario?"

He hadn't said a word, so I continued, "I... Just wanted to say I'm sorry again... y'know, for that stuff I did"

"I told you to leave it." His voice was agitated.

I took a deep breath, being careful with what I said, "I know. I just wanted to say how sorry I was. I didn't mean to annoy you so much"

Lucario walked quietly

"I just want you to forgive me" I looked at Lucario's face for any sign of a response. "Do...you?"

"I already answered that."

My eyes dropped again, "I know, but I thought you'd might after a while."

Lucario looked away, "Why do you want me to forgive you so much."

My mouth opened as I tried to figure out an answer. "I...don't know, I don't like it when you're angry at me"

"And coming with me, slowing me down, after I said I didn't want you to come is your way of getting me to forgive you."

My breath caught in my throat "... I just thought I'd be able to help..."

"You won't" He simply put it.

I looked back at him, "I could, somehow."

He looked at me for the first time since we headed out in the forest, his red eyes stared blankly into mine, "How." His voice was agitated.

I shrunk down due to his glare, "I don't know... I-I never thought of how."

"Humph." He looked straight forward again.

After walking for a while longer, I turned to Lucario, "Have you ever gone to the Tree before?"

He continued looking forward, "Yes."

He replied. "What is it like there?"

He looked away, and I didn't find any sign that he was going to reply except for his slightly squinted eyes.

I edged closer to Lucario as we walked, "Did something bad happen there?"

He increased his pace, "It's my business."

I stayed quiet.

We walked a while further before Lucario looked up at the sky again. It was night, and a full moon shone down on the trees above us, with glistening stars patterning around it helping to bring white, cool light down upon us. The forest was a blue dark, with trees still visible, and a calming cool breeze flowing from behind us.

Finally, Lucario spoke, "We should rest for the night."

I nodded in reply and sat down against a tree – my legs rushing with the feeling of relief as we had stopped walking. I brought out some food I had in my bag and unwrapped them, two sandwiches; one for myself and Lucario. I offered him one, but he turned the opposite direction, "I'll find my own."

I sighed, and placed the sandwich back in the bag after re-wrapping it. Lucario went to a few bushes and took some berries from them, eating them as he walked back.

After finishing my sandwich I looked back at the trees; it was darker, and in comply, so were the trees. "Do you think we'd be safe here?"

Lucario sat in a meditated state against a tree a few metres away from me, "No-one will disrupt us" and he closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply.

I tilted my head at the way he slept, "Aren't you uncomfortable like that?"

He remained silent, and I peered back through the dark woods before placing my bag beside me and laying down against the tree. I looked at Lucario, then around myself, and finally closed my eyes, concentrating on falling asleep as the moon shone through the trees – the breeze softly touching my hair and face, stroking my cheeks as I drifted off into a calming sleep...

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_Sorry this chapter was so short, I wasn't sure of what to do, but thankfully I have ideas for the next chapter, and so fourth._

_R & R! =D_


	7. Dreams

_Hey guys and gals, next chapter's up ;)_

_Hope you enjoy it!_

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**-Chapter 7-**

**Dreams...**

A cool lash of wind at my cheek woke me up...

Groggily sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and slowly opened them, only to shut them tight when the sun hit my face. Trying a second time, I opened my eyes and my breath caught in my throat.

I slowly stood up from where I lay, the grass had disappeared and what lay were grey tiles, which spread out in a large square, and beyond that was a large field of green, high grass. Walking forward, I tensed my shoulders and repeatedly twisted my head, looking in all directions. On one side of the field of grass was a large bright-blue lake. I cautiously stepped toward it and gazed in it; it was clear and sparkling from the rays of the Sun above me. A forest stretched wide on the opposite side of the lake – I noticed something odd sat down in the grass, in front of the forest, it was sat in a similar position to what Lucario was in when he slept. Lucario.

I looked back where I had awoken and saw no signs of the sleeping, blue Pokemon. My nerves built all around me, I was alone. I continued to walk alone the high-grass, which levelled down as I continued, and my gaze lifted to a new unexpected object.

A large, purely-golden Palace sat on the green grass, the sun shining out of it's large dome, my mouth dropped at its sight, and my gaze dropped to what was next to it; an old, wooden piano sat next to the Palace, and sat on the stool was a man dressed in a security uniform.

I ran toward him, my sight fixed upon the piano, forgetting all behind me, my nerves dying down; I was purely focused on playing the piano – although, I was not sure why. When I got there, I stopped running, and began to inch toward the man sat down. He looked up at me, his old crinkled face in a frown, and his eyes meeting mine, but I wasn't afraid of him.

As he continued to stare I asked, "Could I play something?" I smiled, hoping he'd let me.

To my surprise, he stood up and gestured me towards the piano, and I eagerly sat down, my fingers already patrolling the wooden, stiff, black and white painted keys. I looked back at the guard and he was standing next to me, eyes gazing at mine. Looking down again I took a deep breath, and began to play a melody.

But something was wrong... It came out as a mess. My fingers continuously pushed down the wrong keys, and as I continued playing, something in me controlling my fingers pushed me to carry on, and I couldn't stop playing the out-of-key melody. I mentally willed my fingers to stop, to press the right keys, hoping it would do something, but nothing happened, my fingers continued to destroy the sound. I frantically looked back at the security guard, hoping that he would help me, but he stood still, gazing at my fingers.

My breathing rate increased, my eyes watered with tears, I arched my back backwards, trying to pull away from the piano, but nothing worked. I closed my eyes tight and bit down with my teeth, and the sensation of my automated fingers stopped.

Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself to be in a house... my house. I was lying in my bed, my eyes wandering through my old, comfortable room, the posters stuck on my wall, a small desk sat on the side of the room, with a mirror over it, against the wall, and the rest of my old things – the only thoughts in my head was the dream I had just awoken from, just the piano and guard, nothing else.

"Ready?"

That voice... I sat up and listened intently as the voice continued, "C'mon, we have to go, don't we? And you're causing us to be late".

My mum...

"Yeah, yeah, hold on will ya?"

My dad...

I pushed the covers off of me, and jumped out of bed, "Mum! Dad!"

Seconds later, they both appeared in the doorway, my mother dressed elegantly in a red dress, and my father dressed in a tight suit, bent over to tie his shoes, "Yes dear?"

I was lost for words – their appearance had thrown me aback. My mum looked at me worryingly, "Are you okay, dear?"

I smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine". I ran towards them and embraced them as tightly as possible, not wanting to let go, and they, surprised by my action, returned the favour,

"What's gotten into you?" My father blurted out.

I chuckled, "Oh... nothing, I just had a bad dream", I recalled how I was sat at the piano, and the how the odd security guard continually stared at me.

My father grabbed my shoulder tightly, smiling warmly at me, a smile that I had missed, "You should stop eating junk before bed kiddo" and he winked at me.

I smiled and grabbed his lingering hand, "Yeah, maybe." I thought back to before I went to bed, but couldn't remember anything, not even going on my bed to sleep, "Dad? Do you know what I might have eaten before I went to bed?"

His smiled faded, "What do you mean? You never went to your bed last night?"

My breath caught, "What?"

This was replied by my mum's hearty chuckle, as she gazed at my walls, "Dear, you know I don't like those posters, you should really take them down".

I walked backwards a bit, confused, "What are you talking about?"

She pointed to a poster, a band I used to like was in the picture, "Those posters, they're horrible, don't you see?"

I looked at her, and she looked back, "That doesn't answer my question."

"What question?"

I tilted my head, "The question about why dad said I didn't go to my bed last night"

"You should really change the sheets on your bed, they're filthy".

I looked back at my bed, then back at her, "What? You aren't making any sense"

Only when she kept quiet, did I turn to my dad for an answer, but, looking around the room, I didn't see him anywhere.

"Where's dad?"

She continued to stare blankly at me.

"Mum? Where's dad?"

Her face changed: her brows where arched, and she held a scornful face, "You're coming with us, whether you like it, or not."

I was taken aback by this, "What are you talking about mum? Coming where?"

She stepped forward, "I don't care if you don't want to, we are a family, and you are coming now!"

I was against the wall, and she was walking slowly towards me, "You've been a hassle to everyone lately Alex, and I'm getting sick of it."

My eyes were beginning to fill with tears, "What? Mum what are you talking about?"

She growled, and fissured away, my eyes were wide open, she was gone, and I was left stranded in my room – the growl she made reminded me of something.

"Let's just go."

My ears perked up to my dad's voice, and I quickly ran to where it was coming from. I headed out my room, along the wooden hallway, and walked silently down the stairs, looking down at my parents, who had appeared by the door, dressed the same.

"It's not fair on us, she keeps lashing out, and I'm putting a stop to it!" My mum was furious, like she had been a few seconds ago in my bedroom, "She's coming now"

My father looked apologetic, "Listen dear, we could ask a friend to come or something, she doesn't need to come if she doesn't want to."

"She's our daughter, she has to spend time with us!"

My father was quick to answer, "Doing this to her will just push her further away from us, do you really want that?"

My mum stood still, her hands shaking by her sides, and her face a mix of anger and frustration.

"C'mon, let's go" my father walked out the door, and my mother followed angrily, slamming the door shut.

Something in my head was buzzing, I didn't know what, but I knew something was wrong, besides my mother and father being angry at me, mostly my mother. I inched down the stairs and gazed out the window, my father was in the car, and my mother was angrily pulling at the car handle, which was locked, "For f**k's sake, open the door Gerald!"

My father reached over, and opened the door, allowing my mum to get in the car gruffly, slamming the door like she did with the house door. The car began to pull out of the driveway, it was night, so there weren't many cars around. My father drove forward, I could still see my mother complaining about me to him. He looked over at her, and began talking back, getting angry at her response, but he hadn't realized something... And then the unremembered thought clicked in my head.

My mother screamed, and my father followed her gaze to see what had startled her, and from the side came a truck that was driving to fast for my parents car to get out of the way, I could see the driver clenching his face, pulling back on the seat as if trying to stop the truck, although the speed didn't deter. I screamed for my parents, but it did no good. In a tenth of a second, the truck collided with my parents car, and the car was sent across the road, rolling quickly and parts of the car scattering in different places. The truck swerved sidewards, not much damage done to the front, and my parents car was crushed against the side of the road to a halt.

I stood, white-faced at the window of my house, looking at what just happened, smoke was fuming out of my parents car. After a few seconds of staring at the wreck, I managed to move, and ran out of the door towards the car, yelling for my parents, "Mum! Dad!"

As I crossed the road, heading towards the wreck, my surrounding area began to fade quickly away, everything disintegrating, even my parents car. I came to a stop, and frantically looked around, the car was gone, the house was gone, even the truck was gone. Everything was turning to darkness around me, and I was left stranded in this empty void, tears leaking freely down my face, and my breath increasing and decreasing rapidly as I looked around for something.

After a while of nothing happening, I shut my eyes tightly, and grabbed my hair as I fell to the ground... No...This couldn't have happened...Where am I...What's going on? I scrunched my eyes and lifted my head to scream loudly into nothingness...

My eyes opened sharply at the sensation of a touch on my shoulder. My vision was blurred, and, whilst my eyes re-adjusted themselves, I looked around frantically: There were trees around me, green leaves hung overhead, signs of sunlight were shown shining through them, and a blue blur was walking steadily away from me. My vision cleared and I noticed that I was back in the forest, everything I had forgotten whilst with my parents re-appeared in my mind, the castle, Lady Ilene, Lucario... Lucario. Jumped up quickly, grabbing my bag, and ran towards him, "Lucario!"

He continued to walk, "What."

As I caught up to him, I found that I was lost for words, "I... uh..."

I was now walking next to him, he didn't say anything

I thought back to my nightmare... My parents vicious crash, the piano, the security guard, and how everything changed so quickly without my realizing it, "I... it was a dream..."

Lucario titled his head toward me, "What?"

I looked back up at him, "Oh... I was thinking back to my dream... my nightmare" He continued walking, unresponsive to me.

The one thing I knew was real in the dream was the fight I had with my parents, where we were supposed to go watch a movie at the cinema together, I can't remember what movie it was, some corny thing I hated, and the crash... That happened to, almost exactly like that... The fear I had as I saw my parent bloodied faces hang from the upturned car... My thoughts drifted from each terrible scene as Lucario and I walked on.

_4 Hours Later..._

We had covered a lot of the distance to the Tree, and Lucario hadn't said a word to me, I had been reminiscing to the dream – still sad at the sight of my dead parents.

Something shuffled in my bag.

"Lucario, Wait" He paused, and didn't look back at me, "There's something in my bag"

He looked over, and I placed the bag on the floor. It began to shuffle slightly again, and I tensely grabbed the flap, and opened it.

"!" A small, brown... thing lunged at me, cutting my thoughts.

"Gah!" I fell back as the thing landed on top of me. Lucario quickly grabbed it and lifted it off me, it was frantically moving it's small legs, trying to escape.

I got up, and looked at my little assailant. There were three green sphere's on it's head, two small yellow eyes, and a brown, cone-like shaped body.

Lucario pondered at it, "It's a Bonsley"

I blinked, "A... What?"

He kept his eyes fixed on the thing, talking lowly, "A pokemon called Bonsley"

My ears pricked up at this, and I gazed closer at the pokemon, who was still trying to run, "hmm..."

The pokemon began to cry – and he cried out his name whilst pouring tears out. Then something happened.

I saw Lucario smile at the pokemon, and it was a kind, gentle smile. Thinking that this had been the second time since I saw him smile, and remembering what he did when I mentioned it, I looked back at the Bonsley sadly, "Awww, you poor thing"

I reached my arms out to the Pokemon, and grabbed him when Lucario let go of him, he carried on walking towards our destination.

With the Bonsley in my arms, I looked at it, Bonsley looked up at me scarcely, and I smiled warmly back, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you"

I carefully rocked the Bonsley from side to side, and the brown Pokemon stopped crying gave a gip of joy, causing me to giggle, "See, you're okay. You're heavy for a small little thing"

"Bonsley!"

I laughed, amused by the little, cute Pokemon, and then realized that Lucario had gotten quite far ahead of me, "Wait!"

_After some time..._

After catching up with Lucario, and grabbing my backpack, we continued our walk towards the eerie Tree, Bonsley keeping me company as I walked, the little Pokemon cradled in my arms – I had completely forgotten about my dreams whilst with Bonsley, and, thinking back to them, I wasn't as sad – due to Bonsley jumping in my arms, crying out "Bonsley" every time I looked down sadly.

Lucario stopped, and looked into the woods, I stopped next to him, wondering what he was up to. A loud car engine roared past us and continued faded away as it continued. - We had been following a path that lead us near a road which lead back to the Castle.

We followed the noise, no doubt Lucario was thinking about the odd people we had seen beforehand, who were looking for something in the bushes.

Lucario began to pace quickly towards the noise, and I followed as best as I could, knowing that he wouldn't respond to any of my questions.

He stopped at a few bushes, the path was next to them. As I got closer to the bushes, I looked outward at the path: there was a large yellow vehicle parked across from us, and, from what I could see, steam was rising upward, over the truck.

Bonsley was following my gaze, and I heard laughter from beyond the vehicle.

I looked at Lucario, he was gazing intently at that spot, I could have sworn that he was thinking about something else, other than the vehicle and laughter due to his absent gaze on the truck, "Lucario"

He snapped out of his state, and merely looked over at the spot.

I continued, "Shall we go over there?" I kept my voice quieter than usual, slightly worried about any reaction he might have.

He stood up and flared with Aura, and I stood back, looking once again at his ability – Bonsley was also gazing at Lucario's blue Aura.

Blue, flame-like ripples were moving over his body, passing though is legs, arms, chest, head, and tail. The Aura vanished and he looked back up at the vehicle.

"Is it the people from before?"

Lucario squinted his eyes slightly, and then began walking in the direction of the Tree again.

I persisted, keeping my voice quiet, "Is it?"

He stopped and growled slightly, "No. It's people that were at the festival."

I looked back at the truck, "Could we go over there?" I was hoping to be able to talk to someone who wouldn't ignore me.

Lucario turned at me, "No."

I looked at Bonsley, it was looking back up at me, a hint of worry in it's face, "Please? I just want to see if I know them or not."

"And you also said you wanted to join me to the Tree of Beginning", His glare was again pointed at me.

I closed my feet together, "Sorry... I just wanted to see if I knew them, and maybe take a break" I knew I was pushing it, but I wanted to see if what he saw with his Aura might have been Max.

"You told me you would follow me without getting in the way."

"I know... but..." I thought of something to say, "You might as well take a small break"

He was growling softly

"Bonsley"

I looked at his glare, "Please? Just to take a small rest"

He turned his head sharply and lowly growled, "Go." He walked across to the truck, and proceed to walk behind a few rocks on the side.

I took a deep breath, thank-full that all he did was growl.

Slightly smiling at my luck, I walked over to where the truck was, only then did I notice that ahead of the truck were a dozen gaps filled with water that shot out highly into the sky.

I reached the truck and peered over to the source of the laughter.

Something grabbed me, and Bonsley flew out of my arms, luckily landing softly on the ground. I gasped as my hand was kissed and looked down to find something that I regretted meeting.

"Oh...no..."

"?"

I closed my eyes, and smiled in embarrassment, "Hi...Brock..."

"Ahh!" A small hand jerked Brock's ear sharply, and he was swiftly elevated off of me,

"How many times do I have to do this."

I smiled at the person I hadn't regretted meeting, "Hi Max"

He looked up at me, an returned my smile with a joyful one of his own, "Oh! Hi Alex!"

I picked up Bonsley off the ground and looked back at the kid, "I can't believe I'm meeting you out here in this place, weren't you going back home?"

He chuckled back at me, "We were, but Ash and May thought it'd be a good idea to take a look around the place" He looked at the Pokemon in my arms, who was currently watching the distressed Brock trying to struggle away from Max's grip, "I see you caught a Bonsley"

I chuckled, "No, I found him scuffling through my backpack, and he's been with me and Lucario since"

Max's eyes perked up, "Lucario? Is that a Pokemon?"

I quickly became aware of what I had said, "Oh, em, yeah, he's a Pokemon"

Max released Brock, and Brock walked away sulking, rubbing his ear, "I've never heard of a Lucario before"

I nervously smiled, knowing Lucario didn't want the attention, "Y-Yeah, I think he's a rare Pokemon"

"Is he here with you?"

I tightened my grip on Bonsley, "Oh, em, no, he's not, he left awhile ago and told me he would be back in a while" - I hadn't intended to lie to him, but I knew that if I didn't, something worse would happen.

He looked down sadly, "Oh..."

"Don't be sad Max" An idea popped into my mind "So, what's with the steam rising?"

"Oh, there's a hot spring there!"

My eyes lit up, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah, why don't you join us for a while? At least till Lucario comes back"

"But I-er don't have a bathing costume or anything..."

He chuckled, "That's okay, May has some that might fit you"

"Oh, I...em..." If I wasn't comfortable dressing for a ball dance, I knew I wouldn't be in a bathing suit.

"C'mon!"

I looked toward the rising steam as Max and I walked round the truck to the hot spring.

In front of the truck was the hot spring, the warm water filling an average sized hole, where steam flew fluidly out of it. On the sides was a building formation of rocks, and on the far side was more trees. In the water were three figures, one of them I recognized as Ash, the winner of the festival, with his Pikachu racing about the boundaries of the hot spring, the other two I had no recognition of. "Hey guys! You could have waited for me!" Max seemed slightly irritated that his friends had gone in the spring without him.

Ash turned to Max, "Sorry, it was too tempting" he noticed me standing next to Max, Bonsley staring oddly at the water, "Hey, it's Alex!" He rushed out of the water and walked over to me, "How you doing?"

I shook his outstretched hand, "I fine thanks, and yourself?"

"I'm fine too"

I noticed the other two girls staring at me, and Ash followed my gaze, "Oh, sorry" he turned to them, "May, Kidd, this is Alex, I met her at the castle during the festival, Alex, this is May and Kidd"

The girl called May climbed out of the spring and shook my hand, "Hi, that's a cute Pokemon" she scratched the Bonsley,

"Bonsley!"

I chuckled, "Yeah, I just found it"

"Really?"

I nodded

"Could I hold it for a while?"

"Sure" I gave Bonsley to May, and she chuckled as Bonsley yipped joyfully.

"Hi Alex, pleasure to meet you"

I turned to the other girl, "Hi, Kidd, right?"

She nodded, "Yeah"

I noticed something about Kidd, "Hey, I think I recognize you from somewhere"

"Oh?"

Then it clicked, "I think I remember you dancing with Brock at the festival"

She chuckled nervously, "Yeah... That was...Fun..."

"Hey Alex"

I looked at Max, "Yeah?"

"Me and May found you a bathing costume"

I noticed he holding a purple bathing costume, "Oh, em..."

"You can get changed in the truck"

"Oh, I..."

"C'mon, you'd like the hot spring"

"I think I'd prefer to sit next to the hot spring"

Max look sadly at me, "Sure?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

"Well okay then." He walked off to put the suit back in the truck.

I walked over to the hot spring and sat on the edge, close to where Ash and Pikachu was, and he looked up at me, "Aren't you coming in?"

I shook my head, "Nah, I'm okay" Changing the subject, I added, "How's Pikachu?"

The little yellow Pokemon gazed at me, and smiled, "Pikachu!"

Ash chuckled, "He's fine, he was really excited about winning the match"

"Pika!"

I smiled, "Yeah, you two were a great team"

"Thanks"

"Pika Pika!"

"So what brings you round here?"

I blinked, "I was travelling around with someone, and bumped into Brock on the way"

"Oh, he didn't... did he"

Ash had read my mind, "Yeah, but Max stopped him soon after"

He chuckled, "That's good, who were you travelling with?"

"I..." I wasn't sure of what to use as an excuse, and Max already knew, "I was with a Pokemon called Lucario"

"I've never heard of a Pokemon like that before, what does it look like?"

"He em... He's blue with a yellow chest, as red eyes, black sacks hanging behind his head, a blue tai-"

Ash interrupted, "Wait, black sacks?"

I wasn't sure what Ash was confused about, "Em, yeah, black sacks, why?"

"I think he might have been the Pokemon I saw in the match" He pondered for a bit, "Y'know, the one that jumped over the roofs?"

I recalled when Ash and Max were talking about that, "Oh... yeah, maybe that was him"

Ash asked another question, "Is he your Pokemon? Can I see him?"

I used the same excuse that I used with Max, "Oh, no, sorry, he's not my Pokemon, he left for a while and told me to wait here"

Ash looked dismayed, "Oh... Why'd he tell you to wait here?"

I had to prolong my excuse, "Em, he wanted to look ahead, before coming back, so y'know, nothing dangerous would happen"

"Oh that's nice of him, where are you guys heading?"

"I... He... We were going to run some errands for Lady Ilene" At least it wasn't a complete lie.

"Oh cool, maybe we could tag along"

I thought about how Lucario would react to this news, and my thoughts weren't positive, "Oh, sorry, Lady Ilene only wanted me and Lucario to go"

"Really?"

I nodded

"Oh okay then, what's the errand?"

I made another lie, "Sorry, it's a secret" trying to think of way out of his questions, I added, "Are you guys leaving after this?"

Ash looked over at Kidd and Brock, who was slowly inching towards her, "No, we want to explore around some more" he continuously stared at Brock, "I'm, gonna go and stop Brock from scarring her...again..." and with that, he swam across to where Brock was moving towards Kidd. I wondered as to what the other scarring moment might have been – and sympathized towards Kidd.

"Bonsley!"

I sharply turned to Bonsley's cry and noticed that it was running away from a startled May.

"Bonsley's don't like water May, don't you know?" Max was chuckling beside her, she became red-faced,

"Oh, whoops"

I smiled at her lack of thought, and then gazed up at the sun, letting it's warmth touch my face. Lucario might be back at anytime, so I would have to keep look out for him, but until then, I'd spend my time with Ash and the rest of the group.

* * *

_One of Alex's dreams come from one I dreamt of some time ago, and I thought it'd fit in perfectly in this story._

_The next chapter will have something in-store for you people, so look out for it, (As long as it may take, sorry :[ )_

_As always, R & R =] and thanks for all the reviews I got from everyone =]_


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